For  Reference 


NOT  TO  BE  TAKEN  FROM  THIS  ROOM 


PROPERTY  OF 

X.  p.  metcalf 


LIBRARY     OF 


1885- 1056 


THE    LIFE 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INSECTS. 


By    B.   JAEGEE, 

LATE  PEOFEBBOB  OF  ZOOLOGY  AND  BOTANY  IN  THE  COLLEGE  OF  NEW  JEESEY. 

ASSISTED  BY  H.  C.  PEESTON,  M.D. 


toitt)   Nnmcrous  lustrations, 

FROM  SPECIMENS  IN  THE  CABINET  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 

PEANKLIN     SQITABE. 

1859. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-nine,  by 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District 
of  New  York. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Preface 11 

Classification  of  Insects 15 

Order  L— BEETLES  {COLEOPTERA). 

Eemarks  on  Beetles,  18. — Carnivorous  Beetles,  19. — The  Northern 
Lady-Bird,  20.— Its  Use,  21. — Tiger  Beetles,  22. — Green  Cater- 
pillar-Hunter, 24. — Red-Spotted  Caterpillar-Hunter,  21. — Recol- 
lections of  the  Crimea,  24. — Mr.  Ditson's  Circassia,  27. — Professor 
Pallas  and  the  Empress  Catharine  II.,  28. — Scavenger  Beetles,  31. 
— Grubs  eaten  by  the  Ancients,  33. — Enthusiasm  for  the  Study  of 
Insects,  33. — The  Bronze  Dung  Beetle,  34. — Use  of  it,  35. — Catch- 
ing and  preserving  Beetles,  36. — The  Tumble-Bug,  or  Pellet  Bee- 
tle, 37. — The  Egyptian  Pellet  Beetle,  37. — Wooden  Fences  injuri- 
ous to  Rural  Economy,  38. — The  Horned  Passalus,  39. — The  Stag 
Beetle,  40.— The  Indian  Cetonia,  41.— The  Fox  like  Cetonia,  42. 
— The  Horned  Fungus  Eater,  43.— The  Cabinet  Beetle,  44.— The 
Carrion  Beetles,  45. — The  Crusader  Carrion  Beetle,  46. — The  Big 
Grave-Diggei',  46.  —  Herbivorous  Beetles,  or  Plant  Eaters,  47.  — 
The  Entomologist,  48. — Maxims  and  Cunning  of  Peter  the  Great, 
Emperor  of  Russia,  49. — Spring  Beetles,  49. — The  Velvet-Spotted 
Spring  Beetle,  50. — The  Lightning  Spring  Beetle,  51. — Human 
Life  saved  by  it,  52. — Nature  of  their  Light,  53. — Capricorn  Bee- 
tles, 54. — The  Painted  Capricorn,  55. — Legislative  Protection  of 
Birds,  56. —  The  Cloak-Bearing  Capricorn,  56.  —  Snout  Beetles, 
57.— The  Palm- Weevil,  58.— The  Wheat- Weevil,  59.— The  Rice 
Weevil,  59.— The  Pea-Weevil,  60.— The  Leaf  Eaters,  61.— The 
Gilded  Dandy,  61. 

Order  II.— BUGS  {HEMIPTERA). 

The  Red-Eyed  Cicada,  64. — Its  frequent  Appearance,  65. — Letter 
of  Dr.  T.  W.  Harris,  Q>Q. — Incorrectness  of  its  Name,  "  Seventeen- 
Years' Locust, "  67. — The  Locust  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  68. 
— The  Lyerman,  70. — Metamorphosis  of  Cicadas,  71. — Use  of 
them,  72. — Their  different  Species,  73. — Impositions  in  Natural 
Historj-,  74. — The  Lantern-Fly  of  Madame  Merian,  73. — The 
Louse,  77. — Leuwenhoeck's  Observations,  78. — Phthiriasis,  78. 
—The  Bed-Bug,  79.— The  Persian  Bug,  80.— The  Banian  Hos- 
pital at  Surat,  80. — The  Squash-Bug,  81. — Its  Injuries,  and  how 
to  prevent  them,  81. — The  Wheel-Bng,  82. — Tree-Hoppers,  82. — 
Plant-Lice,  83. — Shield-Lice,  84. — How  to  prevent  their  Injuries, 
85. — The  Cochineal,  87. — Commerce  with  it,  88. — The  Shellac 


IV  CONTENTS. 

Shield-Louse,  89. — Use  made  of  it,  89. — The  Manna  Shield-Louse, 
90. — Remedies  against  the  Ravages  of  Shield-Lice,  90. — Murder 
and  Liberty,  9L — General  Deficiency  in  the  Knowledge  of  Nat- 
ural History,  91. — Cabinets  of  Natural  History  in  our  Colleges,  92. 
— How  a  Cabinet  of  Natural  History  can  be  established,  93. 

Okdek  in.— straight-winged  insects  {ORTHOP- 

TERA). 

Natural  History  of  Grasshoppers,  96. — Injuries  inflicted  by  them, 
96. — Remedy  against  Warts,  96. — The  Carolina  Grasshopper,  97. 
— Usefulness  of  Reptiles  with  respect  to  the  Destruction  of  Grass- 
hoppers, 98. — Devastations  caused  by  them  in  the  Old  Country, 
99. — The  Migratory  Grasshopper  in  the  South  of  Russia,  102. — 
The  Katydid  and  other  kindred  Species,  105, — Marvelous  Stories, 
109.— Crickets,  111.— The  Tree-Cricket,  112.— The  Field-Cricket, 
113.— The  House-Cricket,  115.— The  Mole-Cricket,  117.— Cock- 
roaches, 117. — Ear-Wigs,  118. — Soothsayers,  118. — Popular  Su- 
perstitions with  regard  to  them,  119. — Use  made  of  them  in  China, 
121.— The  Walking-Stick,  122. 

Okder  IV.— MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES  (LEPIDOP- 
TERA). 

The  Nobility  of  Insects,  125.— The  Caterpillars,  126.— Their  Meta- 
morphosis, 126. — Use  of  them,  127. — Raising  of  Caterpillars,  128. 
— Their  immense  Multiplication,  128. — Destruction  of  them  by 
Birds  and  other  Insects,  129. — Single  Parts  of  Caterpillars,  133. 
— Single  Parts  of  Moths  and  Butterflies,  135. — Nocturnal  and  Di- 
urnal Lepidoptera,  138. — Nocturnal  Lepidoptera,  139. — The  Sa- 
turnia  lo,  140. — The  Silk-Worm  Moth,  141. — The  raising  of  it  a 
Source  of  National  Wealth,  141. — Silk  manufactured  in  Ancient 
Times,  141. — Castellas'  gigantic  Silk-Establishment  in  Tiflis  (Rus- 
sian Transcaucasia),  142. — Rapp's  Economy,  near  Pittsburgh,  143. 
— Silk  from  North  American  Moths,  144. — India  Silk  from  other 
Moths,  144. — Eggs  and  Caterpillars  of  the  common  Silk- Worm 
Moth,  145. — Treatment  of  them,  146. — The  Cocoons,  146. — Ad- 
vantages of  raising  Silk-Worms,  147. — How  many  Caterpillars 
are  produced  by  one  Ounce  of  Eggs,  and  how  much  Floss-Silk  is 
obtained  from  them,  148. — How  many  Mulberry-Trees  are  neces- 
sary to  feed  forty  thousand  Caterpillars,  148. — Importation  of  raw 
and  manufactured  Silk,  148. — Silk  produced  in  Italy,  148. — Silk- 
Culture  of  the  Crimea,  148. — A  Silk-Establishment  near  Theo- 
dosia,  149. — England's  Policy  with  regard  to  the  Tariff  on  Silk, 
150.— Silk  production  of  the  United  States  in  1840  and  1850,  152. 
— The  Cecropia  Moth,  its  Caterpillar  and  Cocoon,  153. — Proposed 
Use  of  its  Silk,  158. — The  Polypheme,  Luna,  and  Promethea 
Moth,  159.— Food  of  these  Caterpillars.  164.— The  beautiful  De- 
iopeia,  164. — Its  Catei-pillar  feeds  on  Forget-me-not,  165. — Its 
usual  Death  compared  with  that  of  some  Sovereigns,  166. — Of 
the  Woolly  Bears,  why  so  called,  167. — Of  the  Virgin  Tiger 
Moth,  167.— Of  the  Argo  Tiger  Moth,  168.— Of  the  Virginia  Er- 
mine Moth.  168.— Of  the  Tussock  Moth,  168.— Of  the  Tent-Cat- 


CONTENTS.  V 

erpillars,  the  purest  Socialists,  170. — Of  the  American  Tent-Cater- 
pillar, 171. — Their  Injuries,  172. — How  to  Destroy  them,  172. — 
Of  the  Wood-Tent  Cater])illar,  173. — Their  Webs  for  economical 
purposes,  173. — Of  the  Span-Worms,  173. — Singularity  of  their 
Legs,  174,~Of  the  Canker-Worm,  174. — Its  Eavages,  175. — Its 
Metamorphosis,  175. — Of  the,  Lime-Tree  Span-Worm,  175. — Doc- 
tor Harris's  Remedies  against  the  Injuries  of  these  Insects,  176. — 
Remedy  of  the  "Manchester  Guardian,"  178. — Of  the  Apple- 
Worm,  179. — Astonishing  Phenomenon,  180. — Of  the  Bee-Moth, 
181. — Power  of  its  Caterpillar,  181. — Operation  of  these  Insects 
in  a  Bee-Hive,  182. — Experiments  on  them,  182. — Means  to  De- 
stroy them,  183. — Of  the  White  Corn- Worm,  or  Grain-Moth,  184. 
— Its  Transactions,  184. — Abundance  of  them  in  Carolina,  185. — 
Their  Depredations,  185. — Means  of  destroying  them,  185. — Of 
the  Carpet-Moth,  186. — Remedies  against  their  Injuries,  186. — 
Of  Hawk-Moths  or  Sphinxes,  187. — Explanation  of  this  Name, 
187. — Of  the  Potato-Worm,  189. — Its  fi-equent  Destruction  by 
Ichneumon-Flies,  190. — How  the  Humming  of  Hawk-Moths  is 
produced,  190. — Terror  produced  in  Europe  by  the  Death's-Head 
Hawk-Moth,  191.— Of  the  Four-Horned  Sphinx,  192.— Of  the 
Humming-Bird  Sphinx,  193.— Of  the  Satellitia,  193.— Of  Butter- 
flies (Diurnal  Lepidoptera),  194. — Works  on  Lepidopterous  In- 
sects, 195. — Injury  and  Use  of  them,  196. — Names  of  Butterflies, 
197. — Countess  Ragowska  teaching  her  Children  Geography,  His- 
tory, and  Botany  by  means  of  an  Entomological  Cabinet,  197. — 
Classification  of  Lepidoptera  by  Linnceus,  199. — Character  of  the 
Genus  Colias,  199.— Colias  Philbdice,  199.— Colias  Edusa,  200.— 
Colias  Chrysotheme,  200. — Character  of  the  Genus  Melitsea,  20O. 
—  Melitsea  Phaeton,  200. —  MelitteaTharos,  200. —  Character  of 
the  Genus  Vanessa,  201. — Vanessa  Antiope,  or  Mourning-Cloak, 
201. — Its  Injury,  201. — How  the  Tailors  in  France  were  converted, 
202. — Vanessa  Atalanta,  or  Admiral,  or  Mars,  202. — Vanessa 
Cardui,  or  Thistle  Butterfly,  204. — Vanessa  C  aureum,  205. — 
Vanessa  Progne,  205. — Vanessa  J.  album,  205. — Vanessa  Mil- 
berti,  205.  —  Vanessa  Ccenia,  205.  —  Vanessa  Huntera,  205. — 
Character  of  the  Genus  Papilio,  206. — Trojan  and  Greek  Knights, 
206. — The  Royal  Highness  and  the  German  Peasant  in  New  York, 
206. — Destiny  of  old  Butterflies,  206. — Use  of  the  Aerial  Knights, 
206.— Their  Tentacula,  207.— The  Asterias  Butterfly,  207.— Its 
Caterpillars  called  Parsley  Worms,  208.— The  Troilus,  208.— The 
Philenor,  209.— The  Ajax,  209.— The  Calchas,  210.— The  Poly- 
damas,  210. — Generic  Character  of  the  Danaus,  211. — Danaus 
Berenice,  211. — The  Argynnis  Idalia,  212. — The  Argynnis  Diana ; 
Cybele ;  Columbina  ;  Myrina ;  Ossianus ;  Polaris ;  Chariclea ; 
Bellona,  213. 

Order  V.— NET-WINGED  INSECTS  {^NEUROPTERA). 

Definition  of  them,  214. — Letter  of  Dr.  Harris  respecting  their  Clas- 
sification, 214.— The  Dragon-Fly,  217.— Description  of  it,  217.— 
Its  Utility,  218. — Heroism  of  a  young  Student,  219. — Note  re- 
ceived from  a  Lady,  220. — Di^-ision  of  Dragon-Flies  into  three 
Genera,  221.— The  Genus  Libellula,  222.— The  Genus  iEshna, 


VI  CONTENTS. 

222.— The  Genus  Agrion,  222.— Their  Eggs  and  Grubs,  222.— 
How  their  Metamorphosis  can  be  observed,  222. — The  Water- 
Moths,  223.— Description  of  them,  223.— Their  Larvte,  223.— 
Fabrication  of  their  Swimming-Cases,  224. — The  Horned  Cory- 
dalis,  225.— The  Day-Fly,  226.— Its  Larva,  227.— Wonderful  ra- 
pidity of  Transformation,  227. — Enormous  Number  of  Day-Flies, 
228. — Their  Usefulness,  228. — Sjilendid  Amusement  witli  them 
by  Candle-Light,  228. — Curious  Phenomena  with  regard  to  their 
Metamorphosis,  228. — Death  of  a  Day-Fly  and  a  Morning-Glory, 
229. 

Order  VI.— VEIN-WrNGED  INSECTS  {HYMEN OPTERA). 

Character  of  this  Order,  231. — Larvse  and  their  Metamorphosis,  232. 
—  Their  Power  of  fertilizing  Plants,  233. — Lady  Lihatchef's 
Green-House,  233. — The  Gall- Wasps,  234. — Excrescences  on 
Plants  caused  by  them,  235.— Of  Oak-Balls  and  other  Galls,  235. 
— CjTiips  Oneratus,  236. — Cynips  Seminator,  237. — Usefulness  of 
Gall-Wasps,  237.— The  Ichneumon-Wasps,  237.— Their  Useful- 
ness, 237. — Pimpla  Lunator,  238. — Ichneumon  Asteria;,  238. — Its 
Sagacity,  240.— The  Gold-Wasp,  240.— The  Caterpillar-Iviller,  240. 
—The  Mud- Wasp,  24L — The  Hornet,  242. — Its  ingeniously-built 
Nest,  242.— The  Pseudo-Caterpillars,  243.— The  Elm-Tree  Saw- 
Wasp,  244.— The  Pigeon  Tremex,  244.— The  Ants,  246.— De- 
scription of  them,  246.— Males,  Females,  and  Workei's,  246. — 
Ingenious  Activity  of  the  Workers,  247. — Their  intimate  Friend- 
ship -with  Plant-Lice,  247. — Ants  are  Omnivorous,  247. — Their 
Larvie,  247.— What  Use  is  made  of,  248.— The  Formic  Acid,  248. 
— Flying  Columns  of  Ants,  249. — Their  Intelligence,  mutual  At- 
tachment, and  Language,  250. — War  between  two  different  Spe- 
cies, 253. — Benefits  and  Injuries  derived  from  Ants,  254. — Tei'- 
rible  Ravages  occasioned  by  Ants  in  Africa,  255. — The  Visiting 
Ants  of  America,  255. — Ant-Eaters  and  Armadillos  in  South 
America  and  Scaly  Lizards  in  Asia  feeding  on  Ants,  256. — The 
Honey-Bee,  256. — Swammerdam  and  Reaumure  the  first  Classic 
Authors  on  Bees,  257. — Why  Bees  are  the  most  precious  Insects, 
258. — Diffei'ent  Individuals  of  Bees  in  a  Hive :  viz..  Queen,  Drones, 
and  Working  Bees,  260. — Comparison  of  a  Bee-Hive  ^\\ih  a  Mon- 
archy, 260. — Occupations  of  the  Queen  Bee,  260. — Her  Immacu- 
late Conception,  261.  —  How  the  Eggs  are  fecundated,  261. — 
Different  Kinds  of  Bee-Hives,  265. — Bees  in  hollow  Trees,  265. — 
Hives  of  Straw,  265.— Bee-Boxes,  265.— Huber's  Bee-Hive,  266. 
— Patent  Hives  of  North  America,  266. — Sylvester  Davis's  Plat- 
form Bee-Hive,  266. — How  the  Operations  of  Bees  can  be  ob- 
sen-ed,  267. — The  laying  of  Eggs,  268. — Development  of  the  Egg, 
268. — Swarms  or  new  Colonies  of  Bees,  269. — How  to  Hive  a 
Swarm,  269. — The  Sting,  its  Venom  and  Remedies  against,  271. 
— Murderous  Battles  of  the  Bees,  called  the  Massacre  of  the 
Drones,  273. — Fatal  Injuries  done  by  Bees,  274. — How  Wax  and 
Honey  are  collected,  274. — Instruments  of  Bees  for  performing 
their  Operations,  274. — Their  horny  Jaws,  Proboscis,  fore  and 
hind  Legs,  Fossa,  274. — Are  Bees  blind  ?  275. — Propolis  and  its 
Use,  275. — The  Pollen  of  Flowers  is  the  real  Food  or  Bee-Bread, 


CONTENTS.  VU 

but  contains  no  Wax,  276. — The  Pollen  is  manufactured  into  Wax 
in  their  Stomachs,  276. — Honey  is  collected  by  them  from  the 
Nectarium  of  Flowei's,  277. — Which  Plants  are  the  best  Pasture 
for  Bees?  277. — How  they  build  their  Combs,  278. — Wax  and 
Honey  Harvest,  278. — How  Honey  and  Wax  are  taken  from  the 
Hive,  278. — Arguments  for  the  Suffocation  of  the  Bees,  279. — 
Arguments  against  the  Suffocation,  281. — Methods  to  drive  the 
Bees  from  one  Hive  into  the  other,  282. — Hydropathic  Remedy  to 
unite  two  hostile  Parties,  283. — Large  Profits  obtained  by  Api- 
culture, 284. — The  Island  of  Corsica  produced  annually  400,000 
Pounds  of  Wax  and  about  eight  millions  of  Honey,  284. — The 
Kingdom  of  Hanover  produces  annually  300,000  Pounds  of  Wax 
and  over  four  million  Pounds  of  Honey,  284. — Wax  an  important 
Article  of  Commerce  in  Russia,  285. — Apiculture  neglected  in 
England  and  France,  285. — Produce  of  Wax  and  Honey  in  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  285. — Apiculture  a  part  of  Edu- 
cation in  Germany,  285. — Apiculture  theoretically  and  practically 
taught  in  Germany,  285. — The  patriotic  Apiarian  Society  in  Ba- 
varia, 286. — Use  of  Wax  and  Honey,  287. — Honey  a  considerable 
Article  of  Commerce,  287. — Honey  used  as  Medicine,  287. — The 
celebrated  Honey -Cakes  and  Gingerbread  of  Nuremberg  and 
Pressburg,  288. — The  Honey-Wine  of  Hungary,  Austria,  Poland, 
and  Russia,  288. — How  Mead  is  prepared,  288. — How  compound 
Mead  is  prepared,  289. — Mr.  Huish's  Preparation  of  Mead,  290. 
— How  to  imitate  the  Wines  of  Malaga  and  Muscat,  and  some 
other  Sweet  Wines,  by  means  of  Mead,  292. — Method  to  prepare 
very  good  Vinegar  from  Honey,  292. 

Order  VII.— TWO-WINGED  INSECTS  (DIPTERA). 

Character  of  this  Order,  294. — -.Injuries  done  by  Flies,  295. — The 
Horse  Gad-Fly,  or  large  Bot-Fly,  295. — How  she  deposes  her  Eggs 
upon  the  Horse,  295. — How  the  Maggots  are  transported  to  the 
Stomach,  296. — Symptoms  of  their  presence  in  a  Horse,  296. — 
Remedies  against,  296. — The  small  red-tailed  Bot-Fly,  296. — The 
Ox  Bot-Fly,  297. — Description  of  it,  297. — Deposition  of  the  Eggs 
of  this  Fly,  and  their  Development,  297. — The  Sheep  Bot-Fly, 
297. — Its  Description,  297. — The  Female  deposits  her  Eggs  on  the 
Nostrils,  297. — The  Maggots  creeping  into  the  Frontal  Cavity, 
297. — Homeopathic  cure  of  Epilepsy  in  Ancient  Times,  298. — 
Homeopathic  cure  of  other  Diseases  in  Ancient  Times,  298. — The 
Horse-Flies,  299. — Description  of  their  Sting,  299. — The  Black 
Horse-Fly,  300.— The  Belted  Horse-Fly,  300.— The  Lined  Horse- 
Fly,  300.— The  House-Fly,  300.— Description  of  it,  300.— How 
they  annoy  rich  and  poor  People,  301. — Deposition  of  their  Eggs, 
301. — Their  Metamorphosis,  301. — Their  Diseases,  301. — Experi- 
ment for  observing  their  Development,  302. — Use  of  their  fore 
Feet,  302. — An  innocent  Remedy  for  killing  them,  302.— The 
Meat-Fly,  302.— Description  of  it,  302.— Their  Maggots,  303.— 
How  quick  they  Grow,  303. — Remarks  with  regard  to  Corpses, 
303. — The  Hessian-Fly,  304. — Was  it  brought  to  this  Country 
from  Germany?  304. — Arguments  for  and  against,  304. — Descrip- 
tion of  this  Insect,  and  its  Development,  305. — Its  Injuries,  305. — 


VUl  CONTENTS. 

Means  of  destroying  it,  306. — The  Cheese-Maggots,  306. — Eaten 
by  some  People  as  a  Delicac-y,  306. — Description  of  them,  307. — 
The  Flea,  308. — Argument  that  the  Flea  is  a  Dipterous  Insect, 
308. — Its  Abode,  and  how  to  get  clear  of  it,  308. — How  Fleas  orig- 
inate, 308. — Process  of  their  Development,  309. — Description  of 
the  Flea,  309. — Its  astonishing  muscular  Power,  810. — Its  native 
Country,  310. — Dissatisfaction  of  a  Prussian  Emigrant,  310. — Of 
the  Sand-Flea,  311. — Description  of  it,  311. — Size  of  the  Female, 
312. — Her  Injuries,  312. — A  Capuchin  Monk's  unfortunate  Ex- 
periment, 313. — Of  Mosquitoes,  313. — Sufferings  from  Mosquitoes 
on  the  Bank. of  the  Kuban,  314. — The  Czernomorzi,  or  Cossacks 
of  the  Black  Sea,  314. — Telegraphs  on  the  Frontier  of  Circassia, 
315. — Hospitality  of  Captain  Wasil  Iwanovich,  316. — Mosquitoes 
killing  Horses,  Oxen,  Sheep,  and  Hogs,  317. — Mosquitoes  of  the 
Tropics  of  America,  317. — The  Mosquito  of  North  America,  318. 
— Their  Venom,  and  Remedies  against  it,  318. — Development  of 
their  Eggs,  318.— Their  Metamorphosis,  319. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

DRAWN  FROM  SPECIMENS  IN  THE  CABINET  OF  THE 
AUTHOR. 


PAGE 

1.  Cicindela  Repanda. — Repandous  Tiger  Beetle 18 

2.  Cicindela  Sexguttata. — Six- Spotted  Tiger  Beetle 18 

3.  Coccinella  Borealis. — Northern  Lady-Bird 21 

4.  Cabsoma  Scrutator. — Green  Caterpillar-Hunter 24 

5.  Calosoma  Calidum. — Red-Spotted  Caterpillar-Hunter 24: 

6.  Copris  Cornifex. — Bronze  Dung  Beetle 35 

7.  Passalus  Cornutus. — Horned  Passalus 39 

8.  Cetonia  Inda. — Indian  Cetonia 41 

9.  Amphicoma  Vulpina. — Fox-like  Cetonia 42 

10.  Silpha  Americana. — Crusader  Carrion  Beetle 46 

11.  Elater  Occulatus. — Velvet-Spotted  Spring  Beetle 50 

12.  Elater  Noctilucus. — Lightning  Spring  Beetle 51 

13.  Clytus  Pictus. — Painted  Capricoi-n  Beetle 55 

14.  Desmocerus  Palliatus. — Cloak-Bearing  Capricorn  Beetle  ....  57 

15 .  Calandra  Palmarum. — Palm-Weevil 58 

16.  Eumolpus  Auratus. — Gilded  Dandy 61 

17.  Cicada  Septemdecim. — Red-Eyed  Cicada 65 

18.  Cicada  Tibicen. — Lyerman 70 

19.  Cicada  {Larva). — Grub  of  Cicada 71 

20.  Coreus  Tristis. — Squash-Bug 81 

21.  Membracis. — Tree-Hopper 82 

22.  Gryllus  Carolina. — Carolina  Grasshopper 97 

23.  Platyphyllum  Concaviim. — Male  Katydid 106 

24.  Platyphyllum  Concavum. — Female  Katydid 107 

25.  Acheta  Nivea. — Tree-Cricket 113 

26.  Saturnia  lo  (Larva). — Caterpillar  of  the  Saturnia  lo 124 

27.  Saturnia  lo. — Male  Saturnia 135 

28.  Saturnia  lo. — Female  Saturnia 136 

29.  Papilio  Aste7ias  [Lai-va). — Caterpillar  of  the  Asterias 138 

30.  Papilio  Asterias. — Asterias  T" ., tterfly 139 

A2 


X  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAOE 

31.  Attacus  Cecropia. — Cecropia  Moth 154 

32.  Attacus  Cecropia  (Larva). — Caterpillar  of  the  Cecropia  Moth  156 

33.  Attacus  Cecropia  (Pupa). — Cocoon  of  the  Cecropia  Moth....  157 

34.  Attacus  Cecropia  (Silk). — Silk  of  the  Cecropia  Moth 158 

35.  Attacus  Polyphemus. — Polypheme  Moth 160 

36.  Attacus  Luna. — Luna  Moth 161 

37.  Attacus  Promethea. — Promethea  Moth,  Male 162 

38.  Attacus  Proinetkea. — Proinethea  Moth,  Female 163 

39.  De'iope'ia  Bella. — Beautiful  Deiopeia 165 

40.  A7-ctia  Virgo. — ^Virgin  Tiger  Moth 167 

41.  Arctia  Virginica. — White  Miller 168 

42.  Orgyia  Leucostigma. — Rusty  Vajioi"  Moth 169 

43.  Orgyia  Leucostigma  (Larva). — Caterpillar  of  Eusty  Vapor 

Moth 169 

44.  Sphinx  Quinquemaculata. — Five-Spotted  Hawk-Moth 188 

45.  Ceratoinia  Quadricornis. — Four-Horned  Sphinx 192 

46.  Sesia  Pelasgus. — Humming-Bird  Sphinx 193 

47.  Colias  Philodice. — Philodice 199 

48.  Melitcea  Phaeton. — Phaeton 200 

49.  Vanessa  Antiope. — Mourning-Cloak 201 

50.  Vanessa  Atalanta. — Admiral 203 

61.   Vanessa  Cardui. — Thistle  Butterfly 204 

52.  Vanessa  C  aureum. — Golden  C  Butterfly 205 

53.  Papilio  Troilus.—Tmilws 208 

54.  Papilio  Philenor. — Philenor 209 

55.  Danaus  Berenice. — ^Berenice 211 

56.  Argynnis  Ldalia. — Idalia 212 

57.  Lihellula.—Dr&gou-my 217 

58.  ^5A?ia.— Dragon-Fly 221 

59.  Agrion. — Dragon-Fly 222 

60.  Pupa  Libellulce. — Grub  of  a  Dragon-Fly 223 

61.  Pupa  Phryganece. — Grub  of  a  Water-Moth 224 

62.  Corydalis  Cornutus. — Horned  Cory dalis,  Male 225 

63.  Corydalis  Cornutus. — Horned  Corydalis,  Female 226 

64.  Cynijis  Oneratus. — Onerate  Gall-Wasp 234 

65.  Cynips  Seminator. — Sower  Gall-Wasp 236 

66.  Pimpla  Lunator. — Long-Tailed  Ichneumon-Fly 237 

67.  Ichneumon  Asterice. — Asterias  Ichneumon-Fly 240 

68.  Spkex  Pennsylvanica. — Mud-Wasp 241 

69.  Tremex  Columba. — Pigeon  Tremex 245 


PREFACE, 


Philosophy  lias  invested  even  the  commonest  ob- 
jects of  Nature  witli  charms  unknown  to  the  unedu- 
cated. The  conditions  of  our  being  are  such,  that  we 
are  tied  by  destiny  to  every  object;  and  the  more  in- 
timate and  appreciable  the  connection,  the  more  inter- 
esting and  important  to  us  becomes  a  full  understand- 
ing of  our  mutual  relations  and  dependencies  in  the 
vast  arena  of  Life.  No  part  of  Natural  Science,  there- 
fore, can  be  considered  unimportant  or  devoid  of  inter- 
est. Still  there  are  differences  in  our  appreciation  of 
its  individual  parts,  as  there  are  differences  in  our  tastes 
and  mental  Capacities.  If  we  are  accustomed,  like  the 
sportive  birds  in  their  splendid  plumage  and  graceful 
motions,  to  look  down  upon  the  mammalia  as  the  real 
laboring  class  in  the  dominion  of  the  Animal  King- 
dom ;  if  we  despise  the  Eeptiles  on  account  of  their 
ugliness  and  the  deadly  venom  which  they  contain, 
still  we  may  approach  with  pleasure  the  class  of  Fish- 
es, the  greatest  part  of  which  are  excellent  food,  a 
valuable  article  of  commerce,  and  a  great  source  of 
wealth  to  many  nations. 

No  branch  of  Natural  History  deserves  a  more  care- 
ful and  thorough  study  than  the  class  of  Insects,  be- 
cause none  is  more  abounding  in  use  or  injury  to  man. 


Xn  PREFACE. 


The  study  and  knowledge  of  the  companions  that 
swarm  around  us  on  every  tree  and  flower,  in  the  air 
about  us,  and  on  the  earth  beneath  us,  must  be  im- 
portant and  interesting  to  every  one,  of  whatever  men- 
tal capacity  or  taste.  And  it  has  been  very  generally 
so  considered,  for  the  rich  and  poor,  lettered  and  un- 
lettered, the  statesman  and  philosopher,  manufacturer 
and  merchant,  husbandman  and  horticulturist,  clergy- 
man and  physician,  have  often  made  this  study  the 
principal  occupation  of  their  leisure  hours. 

There  is  no  class  of  animals  with  which  so  many 
persons  have  been  occupied,  and  on  which  so  many 
valuable  and  splendid  works  have  been  published,  as 
on  Insects,  particularly  Beetles  and  Butterflies.  None 
of  Earth's  creatures  have  attracted  more  universal  ad- 
miration than  these.  Many  to  whom  the  Book  of  Na- 
ture is  a  sealed  book  have  been  -enticed,  by  the  splen- 
dor of  their  color  and  their  fairy-like  motions,  to  hunt 
for  them  in  meadows,  fields,  and  woods,  to  place  them 
as  ornaments  in  rich  frame-work  upon  the  walls  of 
their  parlors,  or  to  nourish  and  raise  them  with  the 
greatest  care  in  their  rooms,  that  they  may  not  lose  a 
single  hair  of  their  magnificent,  variegated  dress. 

No  class  of  animals  presents  so  great  diversity  of 
occupation  and  so  many  grades  of  society  as  the  In- 
sects. Here  we  see  the  industrious  laborer  busy  at 
his  work,  there  the  lazy  lounging  beggar ;  here  upon 
the  leafy  boughs,  or  before  the  gates  of  their  su.bter- 
ranean  abodes,  myriads  of  musicians  are  playing  their 
fiddles,  and  there  the  skillful  artist  is  building  his  won- 
derful dwelling ;  while  above  in  the  blue  sky  flutters 
a  high  nobility,  clad  in  gold,  silver,  purple,  and  silk, 
fed  on  the  nectar  of  flowers ;  and  on  the  earth  below 


PREFACE.  Xiii 

axe  lurking  troublesome  drones  and  disgusting  para- 
sites. 

Now,  althougli  we  liave  a  great  number  of  learned 
men  in  our  country  who  have  distinguished  them- 
selves in  the  different  branches  of  Natural  History, 
•  still  few  works  have  been  published  on  the  subject. 
Much  credit  is  due  to  Professor  Godman  for  his  excel- 
lent work  on  American  Mammalia,  which  has  been 
augmented  by  the  late  pubHcations  of  Audubon ;  also 
to  Wilson,  Lucien  Bonaparte,  and  Audubon,  who,  in 
their  splendid  works,  have  minutely  described  the 
North  American  Birds ;  as  well  as  to  Professor  Hol- 
brook  for  his  work  on  North  American  Eeptiles. 
Still,  in  spite  of  all  this,  we  have  no  general  work  on 
North  American  Insects,  except  a  few  numbers  of 
the  American  Entomology,  by  Thomas  Say;  Major 
Leconte's  Iconography  of  some  genera  of  Butterflies ; 
and  Dr.  Harris's  elaborate  report  on  the  injurious  In- 
sects of  Massachusetts. 

It  is  time  that  our  people  in  general,  and  particu- 
larly our  youth,  should  be  made  acquainted  with  a 
class  of  animals  which  every  where  surround  us,  day 
and  night,  and  which  furnish  us  amusement,  food,  col- 
oring substances,  and  medicines,  in  order  that  they 
may  be  able  to  distinguish  the  usefal  from  the  injuri- 
ous ones,  the  harmless  from  the  noxious,  and  to  dis- 
cover those  which  may  furnish  new  articles  for  man- 
ufactures, commerce,  and  domestic  industry. 

For  these  reasons  I  have  yielded  to  the  solicitations 
of  numerous  friends,  and  am  about  to  lay  before  the 
North  American  public  the  fruits  of  my  Entomolog- 
ical investigations,  pursued  for  many  years  during  my 
extensive  travels  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  on  this  Conti- 


XIV  PREFACE. 


nent,  and  accompanied  by  a  tliorongli  examination  of 
all  the  works  published  on  this  subject  in  the  various 
European  languages. 

To  accomj^lish  this,  I  am  aware,  will  be  attended 
with  no  little  difficulty ;  for,  as  in  the  Mammalia  and 
Birds,  so  also  among  Insects,  we  have  diurnal  and  noc- 
turnal ones.  Thus  the  Diamond  Beetle  shows  its  gold, 
ruby,  emerald,  and  hyacinth  colors  in  the  clear  and 
bright  sunlight,  and  the  same  is  the  case  with  many 
Butterflies,  who  are  on  that  account  called  diurnal ; 
while  the  Hawk  Moths,  with  a  suspicious  modesty,  is- 
sue from  their  dwellings,  adorned  with  bridal  dresses, 
only  at  twilight ;  and  only  toward  midnight  are  seen 
the  gigantic  Cecropia,  and  many  others,  in  their  vari- 
egated cloaks,  or  the  unicolored,  unpretending  Luna ; 
and  these  Insects  are  hence  called  nocturnal.  In  or- 
der to  perfect  the  task,  I  have  rambled  many  sunny 
days  and  many  tropical  nights,  guided  by  the  dim  and 
twinkling  lamps  of  heaven,  through  open  fields,  dark 
woods,  and  damp  meadows,  stimulated  by  the  satisfac- 
tory assurance  that  these  labors  can  not  fail  of  being 
useful  to  all  students  of  Nature,  and  encouraged  by 
the  hope  that  thus  a  way  may  be  opened  to  a  more 
general  knowledge  of  Natural  History,  and  a  deeper 
admiration  of  the  ten  thousand  sublime  and  beautiful 
creatures  that,  in  one  common  song  of  praise,  pour  out 
their  gratitude  and  proclaim  their  dependence  upon 
one  common  Father. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INSECTS. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  INSECTS. 

The  science  which  treats  of  Insects  is  called  Entomology. 
It  shows  us  the  division  of  Insects  into  different  Orders, 
Families,  Genera,  and  Species.  It  makes  us  acquainted 
with  their  external  characteristics  and  their  nature,  their 
injuries  and  their  uses. 

The  name  Insect  is  given  to  those  small  animals  which 
are  invertehrated,  that  is,  whose  bodies  are  not  supported  by 
a  bony  frame,  but  are  composed  of  many  rings  or  intersec- 
tions jointed  together.  Hence  the  name  Insect.  Each  of 
these  has  at  least  six  legs,  when  in  a  perfect  condition. 

Although  Insects  differ  from  the  vertehi'ute  animals,  viz., 
from  Beasts,  Birds,  Reptiles,  and  Fishes,  which  are  provided 
with  a  bony  frame  and  red  blood,  still  they  are  entirely 
analogous  to  them  in  regard  to  many  of  their  physical  func- 
tions, in  nervous  Sensation  and  Perception,  in  regard  to  Res- 
piration, which  is  effected  by  respiratory  organs,  or  air-holes 
placed  on  the  hind-body,  and  in  regard  to  Nutrition,  which 
is  effected  through  a  stomach  and  intestines. 

Insects  are  found  in  the  air,  as,  for  instance,  Butterflies ; 
or  in  the  water,  as  the  whirling  Water-beetle;  or  in  the 
ground,  as  the  Sand-flea ;  or  on  plants,  as  the  Caterpillars ; 
or  upon  the  body  of  animals,  as  Ticks  and  other  Spongers. 

There  is  scarcely  a  plant  or  an  animal  which  is  not  the 
dwelling  of  some  Insect.  Hence  the  number  of  Insects 
must  be  immense,  and  without  exaggeration  it  may  be  said 
that  there  are  in  existence  more  than  a  hundred  thousand 


16  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

different  species.  If  we  adopt  the  general  rule,  that  on  an 
average  three  species  of  Insects  dwell  on  each  species  of 
plants  (and  on  some  plants  we  find  three  or  four  times  as 
many),  we  can  easily  see  that  such  an  enormous  number 
can  not  prove  too  small  an  estimate,  when  we  consider  that 
there  are  now  known  between  forty  and  fifty  thousand  spe- 
cies of  plants. 

The  nourishment  of  Insects  is  as  varied  and  different  as 
that  of  larger  animals.  A  great  number  of  them  are  car- 
nivorous, and  prey  upon  other  insects  ;  or  they  feed  on  dirt, 
dead  bodies,  or  decayed  wood,  as  the  dung-beetles,  flies,  ants, 
and  the  larvae  of  the  stag-beetle ;  or  they  feed  on  plants,  as 
the  May-beetle,  plant-lice,  etc. 

In  regard  to  the  venom  of  Insects,  we  find  a  number  of 
them  provided  with  organs  for  biting  or  stinging,  which  oc- 
casion inflammatory  tumors  and  poisoned  wounds,  which 
are  ofttimes  dangerous,  and  sometimes  fatal  to  man,  as,  for 
instance,  the  sting  of  bees,  wasps,  and  mosquitoes.      ^ 

The  faculty  called  Instinct,  which  belongs  to  all  animals, 
and  by  which,  from  an  internal  impulse,  and  without  in- 
struction, they  perform  certain  actions  tending  to  their  own 
support  or  that  of  their  offspring,  is  also  found  in  Insects, 
as  well  as  some  faculties  of  the  mind  which  would  astonish 
an  observer.  Thus,  when  the  Tumble-beetle  in  vain  tries 
to  roll  its  little  ball  up  a  hill,  it  runs  for  assistance,  and 
brings  back  with  it  two  or  three  other  ones  who  roll  up  the 
ball  in  concert  with  it,  but  as  soon  as  they  have  succeeded, 
the  assistants  fly  away,  and  the  first  one  continues  his  work 
alone.  Bees,  Wasps,  and  Ants  defend  themselves  with  great 
courage,  and  woe  to  him  who  attacks  a  wasp's  nest !  Some 
flower-beetles,  like  opossums,  pretend  to  be  dead  when  you 
catch  them,  or  at  your  approach  conceal  themselves  behind 
a  leaf,  or  fall  to  the  ground  as  if  dead.  Some  have  even 
memory,  and  know  perfectly  well  the  one  who  takes  care 
of  them,  as,  for  instance,  the  Bees.     The  nests  and  dwell- 


d/K 


CLASSIFICATION    OF    INSECTS.  17 

ings  of  many  Insects  often  surpass  those  of  birds  in  the  skill 
displayed  in  their  construction,  etc.,  as  the  vespiaries,  or 
artificial  dwellings  of  Wasps,  or  the  tents  of  the  Tent-cater- 
pillar, or  the  variously  constructed  cocoons  of  Butterflies. 
But  we  can  not  enlarge  more  upon  these  qualities,  as  they 
will  be  mentioned  in  the  descriptions  of  the  different  Insects. 
According  to  the  improved,  ingenious  arrangement  of 
Linnteus,  Insects  are  divided  into  the  following  seven  or- 
ders, viz. : 

I.  Cokoptera.  Beetles  or  Chafers. — All  Insects  with  horny- 
bodies,  six  legs,  and  four  wings,  of  which  the  up- 
per ones  are  horny,  and  "the  lower  ones  parch- 
ment-like, as  the  Stag-beetle,  May-beetle,  etc. 
II.  Hemiptera.  Bugs. — All  Insects  with  four  parchment-like 
wings,  six  legs,  and  who  obtain  their  nourishmenc 
by  sucking  with  a  movable  proboscis,  as  the  Ci- 
cadas, Plant-lice,  Bed-bugs,  etc. 

in.  Orthoptera.  Straigiit- winged  Insects.  —  Insects  with  four 
parchment-like  wings,  of  which  the  upper  ones 
overlap  on  the  back,  and  the  two  under  ones  are 
thin  and  folded  together  like  a  fan.  They  differ 
from  those  of  the  preceding  order  in  that  they 
have  strong  jaws  instead  of  a  movable  proboscis, 
as,  e.  g.,  the  Grasshopper,  Cricket,  and  many 
others. 

rV.  Lepidoptera.  Butterflies,  Hawk-moths,  and  Moths. — In- 
sects with  four  expanded  wings,  covered  with  col- 
ored farinaceous  scales. 
V.  Neuroptera.  Net-winged  Insects. — Those  which  have  four 
transparent,  net-woven,  or  lattice-like  wings,  as 
the  Dragon-fly,  etc. 

VI.  Hymenoptera.  Vein-winged  Insects. — With  four  transparent, 
veined  wings,  and  generally  provided  with  a  ven- 
omous sting,  as  Bees,  Wasps,  etc. 
Vn.  Diptera.  Two-winged  Insects. — As  Flies  and  Mosqui- 

toes. 


ORDER  I. 

BEETLES— ( COLEOPTERA). 

Figure  1.  Figure  2. 


Kepandous  Tiger  Beetle.  Six-spotted  Tiger  Beetle. 

Of  the  class  of  Insects  the  Beetles  {Coleoptera)  occupy, 
without  doubt,  the  highest  rank,  as  far  as  regards  their  ex- 
ternal construction.  Their  whole  body  is  covei-ed  with  a 
horny  skin,  and  divided  into  a  head,  chest  {thorax),  and 
hind-body  (abdomen).  Their  organs  of  mastication  are  two 
nippers  or  jaws,  with  an  upper  and  an  under  lip.  The 
"  feelers"  (antenna)  are  probably  the  organs  of  hearing. 
The  under  wings,  which  are  like  parchment,  are  so  com- 
pletely covered  by  two  horny  upper  wings  that  they  seem 
to  form  one  solid  mass  with  the  body,  which  is  not  the  case 
with  any  other  order  of  Insects.  In  other  animals  of  this 
class  the  wings  from  their  position,  form,  and  substance, 
are  so  different  from  their  bodies,  that  they  seem  more  like 
accidental  appendages. 

Beetles  are  all  oviparous,  and  undergo  a  perfect  trans- 
formation, or  metamorphosis.  From  the  egg  proceeds  a 
soft-bodied  grub  or  maggot ;  for  instance,  the  larva  of  the 
May-beetle,  provided  with  six  legs,  and  the  larvae  of  the 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  19 

Weevils,  having  no  legs,  but  all  with  a  horny  head  and 
javv^s.  These  larvae  in  a  shorter  or  longer  time  change  into 
cocoons  (pupaj)  covered  with  a  thin,  transparent  skin,  out 
of  which  emerges  the  perfect  Beetle. 

Larvce  are  like  infant  children,  whose  only  occupation 
consists  in  eating,  that  they  may  grow  and  fulfill  their  des- 
tiny ;  but  as  they  approach  the  time  when  they  must  appear 
in  society  as  perfect  creatures,  they  transform  themselves 
into  a  cocoon  (jnqja),  and  sleep  until  Nature  has  clad  them 
with  a  new  and  splendid  dress,  and  furnished  them  with 
glistening  wings  to  appear  as  respectable  objects  in  the 
fashionable  world  of  Insects. 

In  the  nourishment  of  Beetles  something  more  than  the 
mere  preservation  of  the  individual  seems  to  have  been  de- 
signed, and  in  many  instances  it  would  appear  as  if  some 
were  created  for  the  express  purpose  of  consuming  un- 
healthy organized  matter.  Thus  we  find  also  the  carnivo- 
rous Beetles  beneficial  to  man  by  devouring  other  noxious 
insects,  and  even  carrion — thus  destroying  decayed  animal 
substances  which  would  otherwise  prove  a  fertile  source  of 
unhealthy  exhalations.  Beetles  which  feed  on  leaves,  wood, 
fruits,  and  grain,  are  herbivorous,  and  are  generally  noxious 
to  man.  But  even  here  we  find  Nature's  great  doctrine  of 
compensation  fully  carried  out.  If  we  find  many  genera 
of  insects  (which  is  the  case  pi-incipally  among  the  noxious 
Butterflies)  so  prolific  that,  if  allowed  to  increase,  they 
would  devour  all  the  vegetables  on  earth,  and  thus  destroy 
all  living  beings  by  famine,  we  at  the  same  time  see  how 
the  Great  Ruler  of  Nature  has  prevented  their  increase  by 
making  them  the  proper  food  of  others. 

The  number  of  insects  which  feed  on  others  is  immense. 
But,  in  spite  of  the  numberless  enemies  of  their  own  class, 
they  have  still  others.  There  are  a  countless  host  of  in- 
sects that  often  destroy  the  trees,  bushes,  and  vegetables  of 
our  gardens,  fields,  and  forests,  by  eating  their  leaves,  and 


> 


20  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

such  are  very  generally  despised  on  that  account,  much  as 
we  may  admire  their  beautiful  colors  and  motions.  If  we 
wei'e  able,  we  would  destroy  them  all  at  once.  But  we 
forget  that  our  trees,  with  all  their  beautiful  foliage,  are  not 
more  pleasing  to  us  than  the  feathered  warblers  that  build 
their  nests  on  the  branches,  and  gladden  us  with  their  happy 
songs.  We  should  take  from  our  groves  and  forests  half 
their  charm  if  we  were  to  expel  our  Robins,  Thrushes, 
Mocking-birds,  Jays,  Orioles,  Tanagres,  Finches,  Black- 
birds, Cedar-birds,  and  many  hundred  others.  And  yet, 
were  we  to  annihilate  Caterpillars,  our  gardens,  woods,  and 
fields  would  soon  be  abandoned  by  the  whole  feathered  tribe 
who  feed  on  them,  and  melancholy  sadness  shroud  the  abodes 
of  man.  Ardently,  then,  would  we  long  for  the  return  of 
the  noxious  Caterpillars,  and  with  them  the  joyous  song- 
sters of  the  forest.  In  like  manner,  we  ignorantly  despise, 
and  contrive  means  to  destroy  many  birds  who  devour  our 
vegetables,  without  considering  that  they  rid  us  of  a  much 
greater  evil  in  destroying  millions  of  mice  and  noxious  in- 
sects— so  beautifully  is  the  doctrine  of  compensation  illus- 
trated throughout  the  Animal  Kingdom,  as  well  as  in  all 
the  objects  of  Nature. 

Now  among  the  Beetles  of  prey,  which  feed  on  other  liv- 
ing insects,  I  mention  first  the  handsome  Lady-bird  {Coc- 
cinella),  which  is  quite  small,  of  a  discoid  form,  and  for  the 
most  part  yellow  or  red,  with  or  without  spots ;  but  some 
species  are  black.  They  look  like  colored  turtles,  and  are 
known  to  every  child.  But  few  persons  know  that  these 
little  creatures  are  of  great  service  in  the  economy  of  Na- 
ture. They  are  found  upon  all  those  trees  and  shrubs 
which  are  infested  with  the  plant-lice  {Aphis)  which  are  so 
injurious  to  peach,  pear,  apple,  and  plum  trees,  and  others, 
as  well  as  rose-bushes  and  other  shrubs,  and  they  make 
their  principal  food  of  these  disgusting  and  destructive 
creatures. 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  21 

The- gi'ubs  (/arvce)  of  the  Lady -birds  ai'e  much  the  most 
voracious,  and  on  that  account  are  armed  with  two  very 
powerful  jaws.  They  creep  along  on  the  leaves  and 
branches  of  plants  until  they  find  plant-lice,  among  which 
they  then  ravage  like  wolves  in  a  sheep-fold.  When  full 
grown,  their  body  is  generally  half  an  inch  long,  of  an  ob- 
long form  and  bluish  color,  with  four  or  six  yellow  spots, 
which  generally  become  black  spots  upon  the  red  wing-  -<^ 
covers  of  the  perfect  insect.  They  remain  in  the  condition 
of  larv£B  about  two  weeks,  when  they  fasten  themselves  upon 
a  leaf,  cast  their  skin,  and  metamox'phose  themselves  into  a 
variegated  or  ash-colored  short  cocoon,  from  which  the  per- 
fect Lady-bird  issues  in  about  a  fortnight. 

A  great  variety  of  these  insects  are  found  throughout  the 
whole  world,  but  the  largest  species  we 
have  in  North  America  is  the  Northern 
Lady-bird  {Coccinella  borealis,  Fig.  3), 
which  is  principally  found  upon  the  leaves 
of  the  Pumpkin  vine,  and  several  other 
species  of  gourd  (Cucurhifacea').  Here 
they  feed  in  company  with  their  grubs, 

,1       ,  f.  /.  ^,  1       ,  Northern  Lady-bird. 

not  on  the  leaves  oi  any  oi  these  plants, 

as  many  believe,  but  on  the  plant-lice  and  the  larvre  of  the 

Squash-bug  which  abounds  on  those  vines. 

Many  other  species  of  this  genus,  which  are  found  in  this 
country,  are  named  according  to  the  number  and  form  of 
the  spots  on  their  wing-covers.     Thus  we  have 

Coccinella    bi-punctata,  s 

"  immaculata,  (        , 

,,  .         ,  >  and  many  others. 

"  ursma,    ;  (  ■' 

"  novem -punctata,    / 

These  Beetles  were,  several  years  ago,  recommended  as  a 
superior  remedy  for  tooth-ache,  which  was  said  to  be  im- 
mediately cured  by  putting  one  or  two  mashed  Lady-birds 
into  the  hollow  tooth.     I  tried  this  application  in  two  in- 


22  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS, 

stances,  and  the  tooth-ache  was  immediately  relieved ;  but 
whether  the  remedy,  or  the  faith  of  the  patient,  acted  ther- 
apeutically, or  the  tooth  ceased  aching  of  itself,  I  confess 
I  do  not  pretend  to  know.  Thousands  of  these  insects  may 
be  gathered  in  summer  with  the  greatest  ease,  and  may  be 
kept  for  many  years  in  a  bottle  of  alcohol,  and  if  any  one 
wishes  to  test  the  therapeutic  value  of  the  Coccinella  he  can 
try  it. 

Popular  superstitions  are  sometimes  beneficial  in  their 
results,  and  this  has  often  been  the  case  Avith  the  animals 
of  which  we  speak.  Thus  the  ancient  Egyptians  regarded 
.  as  sacred  a  certain  Dung  Beetle  {Scarahceus  Sacer),  because 
by  feeding  on  putrid  substances,  and  consuming  them,  it 
purified  the  air,  and  thus  proved  beneficial  to  man.  For  the 
same  reason  the  Turkey-buzzard,  on  account  of  its  destroy- 
ing carrion,  and  the  Ibis,  on  account  of  its  devouring  snakes, 
were  considered  as  protected  by  the  Gods.  The  Lady-birds 
have  likewise  been  held  in  high  estimation  from  the  remot- 
est ages.  In  Germany  they  have  been  called  Fraueiij  or 
Marien-Kafer  (Lady  Beetles  of  the  Virgin  Mary) ;  and  in 
France  Vaches  de  Dieu,  or  Betes  de  la  Vierge  (Cows  of  the 
Lord,  or  Animals  of  the  Virgin). 

Persons  who  have  plants  in  their  conservatories  infested 
with  plant-lice  will  easily  get  rid  of  them,  and  preserve 
their  plants,  by  putting  a  number  of  Lady-birds,  or  their 
grubs,  upon  the  plants.  A  very  simple  and  a  sui*e  remedy 
for  a  very  troublesome  evil. 

The  Tiger  Beetle,  another  Beetle  of  prey,  is  so  called 
on  account  of  its  variegated  color  and  its  rapacious  propen- 
sity to  devour  every  insect  that  comes  in  its  way.  It  acts 
like  the  tiger  among  Mammalia,  the  hawk  among  Birds, 
the  crocodile  among  Eeptiles,  or  the  shark  among  Fishes. 
They  are  ravenous  wolves  among  insects,  feeding  on  cater- 
pillars, flies,  other  species  of  beetles  and  rain-worms,  and 
will  even  devour  one  another  when  shut  up  together,  which, 


ORDER  I.— BEETLES.  23 

however,  is  done  by  all  the  insects,  probably  enraged  at  the 
idea  of  being  made  prisoners. 

These  Beetles  have  a  cylindrical  neck,  an  oval  and  flat 
abdomen,  their  wing-covers  flat,  their  head  thick,  with  large 
round  eyes,  long  denticulated  jaws,  thread-like  feelers,  and 
their  whole  body  is  ornamented  with  the  most  splendid  col- 
ors. They  may  be  seen  running  upon  dry,  sandy  ground, 
particularly  at  noon  on  sunny,  warm  days,  but  when  one 
approaches  them  they  fly  away  so  quickly  that  it  is  quite 
difficult  to  catch  them  ;  they,  however,  soon .  alight  again. 
When  taken  between  the  fingers,  they  discharge  from  their 
mouth  a  brown,  fetid  liquid,  which  has  the  odor  of  rancid 
grease.  Their  strong,  pointed,  and  crossing  jaws  enable 
them  to  kill  other  insects  with  ease. 

Their  grubs  are  soft  and  white,  but  are  provided  with 
powerful  jaws,  and  have  the  same  rapacious  nature  as  their 
parents.  They  dig  perpendicular  holes  in  the  ground,  and 
when  driven  by  hunger  come  up  just  so  as  to  have  their 
round  heads  cover  the  entrance  of  their  retreat,  and  here 
they  wait  until  some  insect  passes  over  the  hole,  when  they 
seize  him  in  a  moment  and  drag  him  into  their  cavern. 

The  Tiger  Beetles,  of  which  there  exists  many  species  in 
the  United  States  varying  in  color  and  size,  destroy  a  great 
multitude  of  noxious  insects,  and  hence  deserve  to  be  re- 
spected and  protected. 

The  two  species  of  Tiger  Beetles  represented  in  Figs.  1 
and  2  (Ciciiidela  repanda,  and  C.  sexguttata)  were  found 
near  Cranston,  Rhode  Island,  upon  the  sandy  plains  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Stonington  Railroad,  but  they  are  also  found 
in  all  the  INIiddle,  Southern,  and  Western  States  of  the 
Union,  and  with  them  many  other  kindred  species. 

The  Tiger  Beetles,  or  Cicindelce,  belong  to  a  large  family 
called  "Carabi,"  which  Dr.  Bonelly  (Mem.  de  Turin,  1809) 
has  divided  into  many  genera,  and  after  him  Professor 
Latreille  (in  Cuvier's  Regne  Animal)  into  many  more ;  and 


24  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Count  Dejean  has  written  many  volumes  describing  only 
their  different  forms. 

Figure  4.  Figure  5. 


Green  Caterpillar-liunter.  Ked-spotted  Caterpillar-hunter. 

The  handsome  Caterpillar-hunters  (Calosoma  scruta- 
tor, Fig.  4,  and  C.  caUclum,  Fig.  5)  belong  to  the  same 
family.  I  have  given  them  this  name  because  they  may 
be  seen  every  morning  and  evening  upon  the  branches  of 
trees,  looking  out  for  caterpillars  and  devouring  them. 

The  real  Carabi,  which  these  animals  resemble,  are  also 
distinguished  by  the  same  carnivorous  habits,  by  their  mag- 
nificent colors,  and  by  generally  being  found  under  stones, 
or  running  swiftly  over  the  sandy  soil,  on  which  latter  ac- 
count the  Germans  called  them  Sandlimfer  (Sand-runners). 
The  countries  of  Europe  produce  a  greater  variety  of  these 
animals,  principally  in  the  Alps  and  all  other  mountainous 
regions ;  and  the  splendid,  blue-colored,  large  Carabus  {Pro- 
crustes violaceus)  still  brings  to  my  mind  the  most  pleasing 
recollections  of  the  disinterested  hospitality  and  affectionate 
kindness  of  the  Tartars  who  dwell  in  the  lovely  Peninsula 
of  the  Crimea.  It  was  in  the  month  of  June,  1825,  that  I 
visited  that  delightful  country.  The  romantic  valley  of 
Baidar,  covered  with  luxuriant  and  variegated  flowers,  and 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  25 

a  great  variety  of  the  most  beautiful  insects,  offered  me  an 
immense  field  for  collecting  plants  and  insects,  a  catalogue 
of  which  I  published  in  St.  Petersburg  in  1827.  On  the 
first  excursion  I  made  in  that  country,  I  was  followed  at 
a  distance  by  a  dozen  mysterious-looking  young  Tartars, 
who,  as  soon  as  they  perceived  me  picking  up  those  violet- 
colored  carabs  from  under  the  stones,  and  putting  them 
into  a  vial,  suddenly  all  disappeared.  But  judge  of  my  as- 
tonishment, on  my  return  in  the  evening,  in  finding  a  crowd 
of  Tartars  in  front  of  my  house.  Had  I  been  less  ac- 
quainted with  the  kind  feeling  of  those  people,  and  par- 
ticulai'ly  their  hospitality  toward  strangers,  I  should  cer- 
tainly have  witnessed  that  crowd  with  some  alarm.  But 
as  I  approached  the  house,  a  number  of  them  walked  sol- 
emnly toward  me,  the  right  hand  on  the  breast,  as  a  sign 
of  salutation,  and  with  the  left  presented  me  jars  filled 
with  these  splendid  carabs,  as  a  token  of  their  aiFection  for 
me. 

Nor  was  this  all ;  for  two  days  after,  when  I  left  Baidar 
for  Theodosia,  and  when  almost  ten  miles  distant  from  the 
former  place,  I  heard  behind  me  the  swift  trotting  of  horse- 
men, and,  turning  round,  met  one  of  those  friendly  Tartars 
of  Baidar,  who  had  followed  me  for  the  purpose  of  present- 
ing me  another  jar  full  of  those  carabs.  No  persuasion 
could  induce  any  one  of  these  Mohammedans  to  accept  the 
least  recompense  for  any  service  or  for  my  board ;  and  in 
all  their  villages  and  towns  I  was  exceedingly  annoyed  by 
the  inhabitants,  for  every  one  offered  his  house  as  my  resi- 
dence, from  the  tolerant  Mullah,  or  Mohammedan  priest, 
to  the  unsophisticated  country  peasant  of  Jenicale  and 
Kertsch — the  industrious  manufacturers  in  the  cities  of 
Baktschiserai  or  Achmetschet,  as  well  as  the  opulent  mer- 
chant of  KoslofF,  All  vied  with  each  other  in  showing 
hospitality  and  munificence  to  the  stranger.  Would  that 
stranger  could  repay  them  ! 

B 


26  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

It  may  seem  a  long  digression,  but  the  lovely  insects  of 
that  place,  as  they  appear  in  my  cabinet,  or  are  pictured 
forth  on  canvas  for  the  inspection  of  my  readers,  excite  in 
me  a  thousand  grateful  emotions,  that  "  come  crowding 
thickly  up  for  utterance."  It  is  worth  a  visit  to  the  Pen- 
insula of  the  Crimea  to  behold  these  beautiful  insects ;  it 
ten  times  repays  one  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  its  lovely 
inhabitants.  The  climate  there  is  an  eternal  spring.  The 
undulating  soil  .is  rich  in  all  kinds  of  delicious  fruits  and 
vegetables — the  scenery  highly  romantic,  consisting  of  an- 
cient castles  in  ruins,  at  the  foot  of  which  are  seen  domestic 
camels,  and  on  the  open  fields  before  them  herds  of  four- 
horned  sheep.     Here  is 

"  The  land  of  the  cedar  and  vine, 
Where  the  flowers  ever  blossom,  the  beams  ever  shine  ; 
Where  the  citron  and  olive  are  fairest  of  fruit, 
And  the  voice  of  the  nightingale  never  is  mute ; 
Where  the  tints  of  the  earth  and  the  hues  of  the  sky, 
In  color  though  varied,  in  beauty  may  vie, 
And  the  purple  of  ocean  is  deepest  in  dye  ; 
Where  the  virgins  arc  soft  as  the  roses  they  twine. 
And  the  spirit  of  man  is  all  but  divine !" 

Although  this  terrestrial  paradise  now  belongs  to  Russia, 
and  its  inhabitants  have  lost  their  national  independence, 
still  they  have  preserved  their  genuine  Caucasian  beauty ; 
and  while  gazing  with  admiration  upon  them,  it  has  often 
occurred  to  me  that  the  Apollo  of  Belvedere,  the  Venus  de 
Medicis,  and  the  Madonna  of  Raphael  must  have  been  ac- 
curate copies  of  the  men  and  women  of  the  Crimea. 

Their  morals  are  not  less  to  be  admired  than  their  beau- 
ty. Drunkenness,  quarreling,  riots,  and  murders  are  en- 
tirely unknown  there.  You  may  travel  unarmed  and  laden 
with  riches,  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  with- 
out being  molested ;  such  a  thing  as  a  thief  is  never  heard 
of  there ;  and  every  where,  in  the  cottage  and  in  the  palace. 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  27 

you  will  be  hospitably  received  and  entertained  as  an  old 
friend.  If  tlie  rest  of  the  world  were  more  like  the  poor 
people  of  the  Crimea,  "  'twould  be  something."  That  coun- 
try was  conquered  at  the  end  of  the  last  century  by  the  fa- 
mous Potemkin,  the  favorite  of  Catharine  II.,  and  its  sov- 
ereign, the  Ivhan,  sent  a  prisoner  to  St.  Petersburg,  where 
he  died. 

In  this  connection,  and  at  the  risk  of  still  further  digress- 
ing from  the  subject-matter  of  this  work,  I  feel  it  a  duty  in- 
cumbent upon  me  not  to  let  this  opportunity  pass  without 
doing  an  act  of  simple  justice  to  the  memory  and  the  char- 
acter of  one  of  the  most  distinguished  Naturalists  of  his 
time,  Pallas,  long  a  resident  of  the  Crimea. 

Only  a  short  time  since,  the  Hon.  Samuel  Arnold,  Lieu- 
tenant-governor of  Rhode  Island,  handed  me  Mr.  Ditson's 
Avritten  work,  entitled  "  Circassia,  or  a  Tour  to  the  Cau- 
casus," in  which  I  was  surprised  to  find  some  statements 
which  I  knew  to  be  erroneous,  and  which  I  can  only  ac- 
count for  from  the  superficial  and  one-sided  view  of  things 
a  traveler  is  liable  to  take  who  rapidly  passes  through  a 
country  and  receives  his  impressions  from  only  partial 
sources.  But  the  erroneous  impressions  which  Mr.  Ditson 
conveys  with  regard  to  the  world-renowned  Naturalist, 
Pallas,  particularly  demand  correction  from  me,  because, 
during  my  residence  in  St.  Petersburg,  I  was  acquainted 
with  his  most  intimate  friends,  and  familiarly  knew  his 
whole  life  and  character.  Besides,  afterward,  at  Simpher- 
opol,  in  the  Crimea,  in  1825, 1  was  hospitably  seceived  and 
entertained  by  Madame  Caroline  Ivanowna  Pallas,  the  wid- 
ow of  that  distinguished  Philosopher,  and  from  her  own  lips, 
of  course,  acquired  the  most  accurate  and  reliable  informa- 
tion with  regard  to  herself  and  her  husband. 

Speaking  of  Baktschiserai,  the  former  residence  of  the 
Khans  of  the  Crimea,  Mr.  Ditson  says:  "  In  this  vicinity 
lived  Pallas,  who  came  here  and  wrote  his  famovis  book  of 


28  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

travels,  and  so  pleased  the  Empress  Catharine  by  the  glow- 
ing description  he  gave  of  the  country,  that  she  thought  she 
could  not  reward  him  better  than  by  giving  him  a  portion 
of  it,  with  an  income  of  two  thousand  rubles.  Pallas  con- 
sidered it  but  as  a  species  of  exile,  and  was  overwhelmed. 
He  saw  that  he  was  the  dupe  of  a  simple  desire  to  make  the 
newly-acquired  territory  grateful  to  his  sovereign,  and  he 
sat  himself  down,  without  the  power  or  courage  to  com- 
plain, suffering  in  body  and  mind  till  the  shades  of  an  un- 
ending night  vailed  him  from  the  world." 

Now  the  facts  are  these  :  Professor  Pallas,  Member  of 
the. Imperial  Academy  of  Science  at  St.  Petersburg,  Coun- 
cilor of  State,  and  Knight  of  several  Orders,  was  born  in 
1741,  at  Berlin,  where  he  acquired  a  distinguished  reputa- 
tion by  his  researches  and  writings  on  Natural  History. 
When  the  Empress  Catharine  II.  of  Russia  learned  the 
fame  of  this  great  man,  and  his  eminence  in  his  department 
of  science,  she  invited  him  to  her  court,  and  then  proposed 
to  him,  as  a  Naturalist,  to  survey  Siberia,  the  Crimea,  and 
the  Cis  and  Trans-Caucasian  provinces.  He  accepted  her 
proposition,  and  spent  several  years  in  traveling  through 
the  countries,  all  the  while  being  recompensed  in  a  prince- 
ly manner  by  the  Empress,  and  journeying  in  the  greatest 
style  and  expense.  His  many  classical  and  valuable  works 
with  regard  to  the  Zoology  and  Botany  of  those  provinces, 
published  in  French,  German,  and  the  Eussian  languages, 
were  the  result  of  his  extensive  labors,  and  to  this  day  at- 
test his  eminent  ability  in  the  department  of  Natural  His- 
tory. 

On  his  return  to  St.  Petersburg  he  offered  to  sell  his 
large  collection  of  natural  productions  for  the  sum  of  fif- 
teen thousand  rubles;  but  when  the  Empress  heard  of  it 
she  wrote  him,  telling  him  that  he  knew  very  well  how  to 
write  a  learned  work,  but  that  he  did  not  know  how  to 
make  a  calculation,  for  his  cabinet  was  worth  twenty  thou- 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  29 

sand  rubles,  and  that  she  would  be  purchaser  of  it  at  that 
price  under  one  condition,  viz.,  that  the  cabinet  should  re- 
main in  his  house  for  his  use  as  long  as  he  lived.  Accord- 
ingly, she  accompanied  her  letter  to  Pallas  with  the  twenty- 
thousand  rubles. 

This  delicate  and  munificent  present  of  the  Empress  was 
followed  by  her  settling  upon  him  large  estates  in  the 
Crimea,  where  he  preferred  to  reside ;  but  a  great  portion 
of  these  estates  he  sold,  after  the  death  of  the  Empress,  to 
the  famous  Armenian,  Natarra,  who  owned  the  large  crown- 
diamond  of  Shack  Nadir  of  Persia,  which  was  purchased  by 
Catharine,  and  is  still  now  seen  in  the  Hermitage  among 
the  other  crown-jewels. 

In  view  of  all  these  facts,  we  can  not  understand  how 
Pallas  becamea  dupe  of  the  Russian  Government,  or  could 
consider  himself  as  exiled  to  the  Crimea,  as  Mr.  Ditson  says. 
It  was  not  so,  as  he  resided  there  only  when  he  preferred 
it ;  and  after  the  death  of  the  Empress,  when  he  was  over 
sixty  years  old,  he  became  anxious  to  see  his  fatherland 
once  more.  Accordingly,  he  settled  on  his  wife,  who  pre- 
ferred to  remain  there,  a  very  fine  estate  near  Simpheropol, 
and  he  went  to  Berlin,  his  native  place,  where  he  died  at 
the  age  of  seventy  years. 

Pallas  was  twice  married.  He  had  by  his  first  wife  only 
one  daughter,  who  was  married  to  Count  Wimpfen,  a  Gen- 
eral in  the  Russian  army,  who  was  killed,  in  1805,  on  the 
battle-field  of  Austerlitz.  His  second  wife  was  still  alive, 
and  resident  in  the  Crimea,  in  1825,  when  I  was  there. 
Although  over  sixty  years  of  age,  she  was  the  life  of  soci- 
ety, a  lady  of  great  intellectual  attainment,  and  an  accom- 
plished scholar.  She  spoke  fluently  the  Russian,  French, 
Italian,  German,  and  Tartar  languages. 

We  have  already  remarked,  in  the  lives  of  the  Insects 
under  consideration,  that  they  aiford  a  constant  evidence 
of  the  working  of  Nature's  great  law  of  antagonization — 


30  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

the  one  undoing  what  the  other  does ;  the  injuries  which 
one  species  would  inflict  upon  man  are  checked  by  other 
species,  which  prevent  their  superabundance,  and  keep  an 
even  balance  in  the  scale  of  being. 

Hence  this  law  of  antagonization  is,  in  its  eiFects,  the 
law  of  Compensation.  Thus  we  see  Tiger  Beetles,  Carabi, 
Lady-birds,  and  many  other  Coleoptera,  destined  to  benefit 
mankind  by  devouring  other  insects  which  are  noxious.  Of 
these  we  have  already  spoken.  But  a  mere  negative  use- 
fulness is  not  the  only  one  belonging  to  this  order.  There 
are  also  many  other  Beetles  which  render  us  the  greatest 
service  by  devouring  putrid  substances,  carrion,  decomposed 
fermenting  plants,  mushrooms,  dung,  and  decayed  wood,  as, 
for  instance,  the  Dung  Beetles,  Carrion  Beetles,  and  many 
others. 

Now  the  food  of  Beetles  in  general  has  suggested  to  us 
the  idea  of  dividing  them  into  three  Natural  Families,  ac- 
cording to  the  nourishment  which  they  subsist  upon,  and 
this  division  seems  to  us  the  simplest,  most  uniform,  and 
the  most  rational,  as  well  as  the  only  really  natural  divi- 
sion. Accordingly,  I  classify  all  the  Coleoptera  under  one 
of  the  three  following  families : 

1.  Carnivorous  Beetles,  which,  like  Lions  and  Tigers  among  Beasts, 
prey  upon  living  Insects  ;  as  presented  in  Figure  3. 

2.  Scavenger  Beetles,  which  live  on  putrid  matter,  carrion,  decayed 
wood,  and  plants ;  as  those  represented  in  Figures  6,  7,  8,  9,  and 
10. 

3.  Herbivorous  Beetles,  which  feed  on  Plants  and  Fruits,  as  Snout 
Beetles,  or  Weevils,  Capricorn  Beetles,  etc. 

The  first  two  families  are  useful  to  man,  and  deserve  our 
protection ;  but  the  last  are  noxious,  and  should  be  de- 
stroyed wherever  encountered. 

The  distinguished  French  Entomologist,  Latreille,  divided 
Beetles  into  five  tribes,  according  to  the  number  of  joints 
found  on  their  feet.     Thus  he  called  those  that  have  five 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  31 

joints,  Pentamera ;  those -with  four  on  the  hind  feet  and  five 
on  the  fore  feet,  Heteromera ;  those  with  four,  Tetramera; 
with  three,  Trimera  ;  and  those  with  two  joints,  Dimera. 

This  division,  altliough  as  convenient  as  the  artificial 
classification  of  Plants  by  Linnteus,  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  stamens,  is  still  subject  to  the  same  incongruities. 
Both  in  the  system  of  Latreille  and  in  that  of  Linnaeus,  we 
find  arranged  in  one  and  the  same  class  individuals  which 
do  not  and  can  not  coincide  with  each  other,  neither  in 
their  external  form  nor  in  their  nature.  Thus,  in  the  Lin- 
nasan  system,  the  Crocus  and  Wheat  occur  in  the  same 
class,  Triandria,  simply  because  each  of  tliese  plants  has 
three  stamens ;  but  what  an  immense  difference  is  there  be- 
tween them  in  their  properties,  and  even  in  their  external 
forms!  Many  others  occur  in  the  same  class  which  are 
equally  incongruous.  So  also  in  the  artificial  system  of 
Latreille.  The  Tiger  Beetles  and  the  May  Beetles  belong  to 
one  and  the  same  family,  which  he  calls  Pentamera,  because 
both  have  five  joints  on  their  feet ;  but  they  are  very  unlike 
each  other  in  their  forms  and  in  their  natm-al  disposition ; 
the  one  is  carnivorous,  the  other  herbivorous;  the  one  is 
useful,  the  other  injurious  to  vegetation.  For  these  reasons 
we  prefer  our  natural  classification  according  to  their  food, 
and  hence  according  to  their  natural  disposition.  Of  the 
first  family,  the  Carnivorous  Beetles,  we  have  already  spok- 
en, and  we  proceed  to  the  second  family. 

Scavenger  Beetles. 

The  body  of  most  all  of  the  Scavenger  Beetles  is  very 
hard,  and  their  feet  very  strong,  adapted  for  digging.  They 
deposit  their  eggs  in  manure,  or  rotten  wood,  or  carrion,  or 
in  the  ground,  and  in  some  instances  the  grubs  {larvce) 
proceeding  from  these  eggs  live  several  years  in  these  sub- 
stances before  they  are  metamorphosed  into  perfect  beetles, 
as  in  the  case  with  the  Stas;  Beetle. 


32  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

In  this  family  we  find  the  largest  Beetles,  as,  for  instance, 
the  Hercules  of  South  America,  which  is  five  inches  long. 
Many  of  them,  also,  are  remarkable  for  their  very  singular 
forms.  Upon  their  thorax  or  head  we  generally  notice  sev- 
eral horns,  which  are  used  to  facilitate  the  process  of  dig- 
ging, and  the  antennae  in  many  of  them  terminate  in  a 
knob,  which  consists  of  from  three  to  seven  leafy  pieces 
(lamellce),  which  they  fold  or  unfold  at  pleasure,  like  a  fan. 
These  last  are  on  this  account  called  Lamellicornes. 

Notwithstanding  some  of  these  insects  dwell  in  the  most 
disgusting  and  filthy  abodes,  from  which  also  they  take 
their  nourishment,  they  are  still  very  clean  in  their  appear- 
ance, and  generally  very  bright  in  their  color.  Their  olfac- 
tory organs  are  very  powerful  and  of  great  extent,  for 
scarcely  a  horse  or  cow  drops  its  dung  in  a  pasture  but  we 
see  them  flying  to  it  from  all  directions,  digging  themselves 
into  it,  working  it  up,  and  making  holes  under  it  in  the 
ground,  into  which  they  deposit  their  eggs,  or  making  balls 
of  it  like  the  Tumble-bug. 

The  larvae  of  these  insects  live  under  ground,  and  feed 
on  the  parts  of  their  dwellings,  viz.,  on  manure,  decayed 
wood  or  carrion,  or  roots.  They  are  of  a  cylindrical  form, 
somewhat  thicker  behind,  and  round,  and  consist  of  twelve 
'  generally  pale  yellow-colored  ringlets :  their  head  is  horny ; 
they  have  two  strong  jaws  and  six  legs.  On  each  side 
of  the  body  are  the  breathing  organs,  consisting  of  nine 
holes,  the  same  as  in  caterpillars.  Their  back  is  generally 
curved,  and  hence  they  can  not  stretch  themselves  out  or 
walk  upon  level  ground.  Many  of  them  live  in  this  seem- 
ingly pitiful  condition  for  several  years  before  they  change 
into  a  cocoon  {pupa) ;  then,  with  the  material  of  their 
dwellings,  which  they  anoint  with  a  gelatinous  substance 
coming  from  their  bodies,  they  form  an  oblong  cocoon,  into 
which  they  gather  themselves,  and  remain  safe  from  all  ex- 
ternal influences,  until  after  a  longer  or  shorter  time  their 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  33 

metamorphosis  is  complete,  and  they  emerge  as  perfect 
Beetles. 

A  number  of  such  larvae  were  considered  by  the  ancient 
Romans  as  a  wholesome  and  delicious  article  of  food,  and 
even  fried  and  eaten  by  them,  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  West  India  Islands  now  do  with  the 
Palm-worm,  which  is  a  disgusting-looking,  fat  larva,  from 
three  to  five  inches  long.  This  larva  lives  in  the  stem  of 
the  Palm-tree,  usually  in  the  Cabbage  Palm  {Ai'eca  olera- 
cea),  and  afterward  changes  into  a  black  weevil  two  inches 
long  {Calandra  pahnarum),  which,  however,  belongs  to  the 
herbivorous  Beetles,  of  which  we  shall  speak  hereafter. 

The  gigantic  beetles  of  this  family,  some  of  which  are 
from  three  to  five  inches  long,  are  found  in  the  tropics  of 
America,  Asia,  and  Africa,  and,  from  their  size  and  mag- 
nificent colors,  as  well  as  from  the  oddity  of  their  appear- 
ance in  contrast  with  those  of  other  climes,  form  great  or- 
naments in  an  Entomological  cabinet.  They  are  as  rare  in 
the  insect  world  as  are  the  Elephants,  Rhinoceroses,  and 
River  Horses  among  beasts ;  and  enthusiastic  entomolo- 
gists have  often  paid  very  considerable  sums  of  money  for 
them. 

It  is  not  wonderful,  then,  that  these  beautiful  ornaments 
of  Creation  have  so  excited  the  admiration  of  scientific  men 
as  to  lead  to  a  complete  mania  for  collecting  and  preserv- 
ing them — as  actually  to  make  the  observation  of  Insects, 
and  the  study  of  their  nature  and  use,  the  ruling  passion  of 
their  lives.  The  immortal  Reaumure  established  on  his  es- 
tate houses,  or  rather  nurseries,  for  insects,  and  paid  serv- 
ants for  attending  to  them,  he  himself  watching  them  night 
and  day,  in  order  to  become  perfectly  acquainted  with  their 
manner  of  living.  His  "  Me'moires  des  Insectes,"  publish- 
ed in  Paris,  1734,  abound  with  the  most  curious  and  inter- 
esting observations. 

General  Count  Dejeau,  Aid-de-camp  to  Napoleon  Bona- 
B  2 


34  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

parte,  was  so  anxious  to  increase  the  number  of  specimens 
in  his  entomological  cabinet,  that  he  even  availed  himself 
of  his  military  campaigns  for  this  purpose,  and  was  con- 
tinually occupied  in  collecting  insects  and  fastening  them 
with  pins  on  the  outside  of  his  hat,  which  was  always  cov- 
ered with  them.  The  Emperor,  as  well  as  the  whole  army, 
were  accustomed  to  see  General  Dejeau's  head  thus  singu- 
larly ornamented  even  when  in  battle.  But  the  departed 
spirits  of  those  murdei-ed  insects  once  had  their  revenge  on 
him ;  for,  in  the  battle  of  Wagram,  in  1809,  and  while  he 
was  at  the  side  of  Napoleon,  a  shot  from  the  enemy  struck 
Dejeau's  head,  and  precipitated  him  senseless  from  his 
horse.  Soon,  however,  recovering  from  the  shock,  and  be- 
ing asked  by  the  Emperor  if  he  was  still  alive,  he  answer- 
ed, "  I  am  not  dead  ;  but,  alas  !  my  insects  are  all  gone  !" 
for  his  hat  was  literally  torn  to  pieces.  Six  years  after 
this,  in  1815,  I  met  Count  Dejeau  as  an  exile  at  Fiume, 
on  the  Adriatic,  and  made  several  entomological  excursions 
with  him. 

The  celebrated  Prince  Paul  of  "Wiirtemberg,  another  pas- 
sionate Naturalist,  whom  I  met  in  1829  at  Port-au-Prince, 
being  one  day  at  my  house,  shed  tears  of  envy  when  I  show- 
ed him  the  gigantic  beetle  Actceon,  which,  only  a  short  time 
before,  had  been  presented  to  me  by  the  Uaytien  Admiral 
Banajotti,  he  having  found  it  at  the  foot  of  a  Cocoa-nut 
Palm-tree  on  his  plantation. 

The  Bronze  Dung  Beetle  (Copris  carnifex). — This  is 
one  of  the  most  splendid  Scavenger  Beetles  of  North  Amer- 
ica, and  is  found  in  horse  and  cow  dung  on  our  roads,  and 
in  our  meadows  and  pastures.  It  is  about  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  long,  and  has  a  short,  vaulted  body  without 
a  scutel,  that  is,  without  that  little  triangular  horny  plate 
between  the  upper  parts  of  the  two  wing-covers,  which  we 
find  in  so  many  others;  for  instance,  in  the  Cetonia  (Figs. 
8  and  9).     Its  antennse  are  short,  and  terminate  in  a  knob 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  35 

composed  of  leaf-like  pieces,  which  can  be  folded  or  unfold- 
ed, like  a  fan,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  ani- 

'  '  ^  Figure  6. 

mal.  The  thorax  and  head  are  external- 
ly chased,  and  of  an  antique  bronze  color. 
The  head  is  semicircular,  with  a  purple 
border  on  the  margin,  and  in  the  male 
with  a  short  perpendicular  horn.  The 
wing-covers  are  striated,  and  of  a  change- 
able green  color.  The  feet  black,  hairy,  ^iic  Bronze  Dung 
and  strong,  calculated  for  digging  holes. 

This  Beetle,  like  all  others  of  this  family,  contributes 
much  toward  purifying  the  air,  by  feeding  on  putrid,  un- 
wholesome substances.  It  acts  in  the  same  manner,  and 
produces  the  same  effect,  as  those  larvse  of  insects  which 
live  in  the  water  and  purify  it.  The  experiment  of  Lin- 
naeus is  perhaps  familiar  to  all.  He  filled  two  vessels  with 
fetid,  putrid  water,  and  into  one  he  put  the  larva3  of  Gnats, 
Dragon-flies,  and  Ephemera3,  and  left  the  other  standing. 
In  a  short  time  the  water  in  the  first  vessel,  which  was  full 
of  larvje,  was  found  pure,  and  entirely  devoid  of  smell,  while 
the  other  continued  as  fetid  and  as  putrid  as  before.  This 
experiment  can  be  repeated  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  one 
who  chooses  to  make  it. 

The  Bronze  Dung  Beetle  is  found  in  great  numbers  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  summer  and  in  the  autumn,  more  in 
the  Southern  and  Western  States  than  in  the  North  and 
East,  and  for  the  very  obvious  reason  that  its  presence  is 
more  wanted  in  the  warmer  climates,  where  the  air  is  more 
apt  to  become  infected  by  decayed  and  putrid  matter. 

Another  use  may  be  made  of  this  insect,  and  one  which 
I  may  mention  particularly  for  the  young  ladies  and  gentle- 
men who  may  read  these  pages.  By  taking  off  its  hand- 
some wing-covers,  thorax,  and  head,  and  gluing  them  close 
to  each  other  on  the  outside  of  a  fancy  box,  you  will  have 
a  beautifully  variegated  surface,  glistening  with  green  and 


36  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

red,  which  will  shine  brilliantly  when  varnished,  and  will 
excite  the  curiosity  of  every  one.  If  you  can  not  find 
wing-covers  enough  of  this  insect,  take  those  also  of  Ti- 
ger Beetles,  Lady-bugs,  Carabi,  Cetonias,  and  a  hundred 
others  with  bright  colors,  and  you  will  have  a  variety  of 
colors  such  as  Nature  only  can  paint,  and  such  as  can  not 
fail  to  captivate  the  eye  of  every  observer,  or  to  reward  you 
for  your  trouble.  Such  occupation  would  foi-m  a  delight- 
ful amusement  for  the  long  winter  evenings ;  and  while 
storms  and  snows  are  raging  Avithout,  what  more  genial 
employment  than  to  be  admiring  the  creatures  of  a  sunny 
clime  and  studying  the  character  and  uses  of  these  spangled 
ornaments  of  Nature's  tropical  dress  ! 

Now,  in  order  to  accomplish  this,  you  must  amuse  your- 
selves during  the  summer  by  catching  Beetles  and  preserv- 
ing them.  You  will  find  hundreds  of  them  running  in  the 
roads,  or  concealed  under  stones,  or  sitting  on  the  leaves  of 
plants,  or  flying  in  the  air.  If  you  keep  your  windows  open 
during  the  warm  nights  also,  those  insects  which  are  active 
only  at  night  will  fly  into  the  room  toward  the  light,  and 
may  thus  be  taken  by  the  hand,  for  none  of  the  Beetles  are 
venomous.  But  in  order  to  preserve  them  and  make  them 
die  as  quick  as  possible,  you  must  be  provided  with  a  wide- 
mouthed  bottle  (a  horse-radish  vial  answers  this  purpose 
very  well),  containing  a  small  quantity  of  whisky  or  dilute 
alcohol,  and  put  them  into  it  as  soon  as  caught.  When 
they  are  dead  take  them  out,  and  stick  a  long  pin  or  needle 
through  the  right  wing  and  body,  so  far  that  their  legs  can 
not  touch  the  bottom,  and  then  place  them  in  a  box  the 
bottom  of  which  is  lined  with  beeswax  or  cork.  In  order 
to  prevent  the  entrance  of  destructive  living  insects,  it  is 
also  necessary  to  stick  a  pin  in  each  corner  of  the  box,  with 
a  piece  of  sponge  on  it,  which  you  must  from  time  to  time 
saturate  with  spirits  of  camphor.  Beetles  may  be  also  kept 
in  a  vial  of  whisky  or  alcohol,  and  thus  be  preserved  for 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  37 

many  years,  and  transported  thousands  of  miles  without  in- 
jury. I  have  been  thus  particular  in  these  details  because 
I  am  often  asked  how  to  catch  and  preserve  these  insects. 

Another  species  of  Dung  Beetle,  very  beneficial  in  the 
same  way,  and  well  known  to  every  child,  is  the  funny 
Tumble-bug,  or  Pellet  Beetle  (Atetichus  volvens),  which  is 
found  in  all  the  States  of  the  Union,  and  in  fact  similar 
ones  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Pliny,  speaking 
of  that  species  which  is  found  in  Italy,  says :  '■^Aliud  scara- 
bcEorum  genus,  qui  e  Jimo  ingentes  pilos  aversis  pedibus  vohdant, 
parvosqne  in  Us  contra  rigorem  hiemis  vermiculos  foetus  sui  ni- 
dulantur." 

The  Pellet  Beetle  of  North  America  is  half  an  inch  long, 
of  a  black,  and  some  of  them  of  a  changeable  green  or  pur- 
ple color,  exhaling  a  fetid  odor,  slightly  resembling  that  of 
musk.  These  Beetles  are  complete  models  of  industry  and 
parental  care,  for  they  are  continually  occupied  in  making 
small  balls  of  fresh  manure,  about  the  size  of  a  common 
marble,  which  they  mix  with  earth,  and  into  which  they 
deposit  an  egg.  As  soon  as  the  ball  is  dry  they  roll  it  and 
roll  it,  until  they  find  a  convenient  place  for  making  a  hole 
two  or  three  feet  deep,  into  which  they  roll  it,  and  then 
bury  up  their  ofispring,  the  precious  object  of  so  much 
care. 

The  ancient  Egyptians  were  so  convinced  of  the  benefit 
derived  from  these  insects,  that  they  considered  Pellet  Bee- 
tles as  sacred,  and  usually  represented  them  in  their  tem- 
ples, obelisks,  and  statues.  They  are  also  found  even  in 
their  mummeries.  The  Ateuchus  sacer  of  the  Egyptians, 
however,  although  of  the  same  character  and  habits  as  our 
Pellet  Beetle,  is  twice  as  large,  and  is  also  black.  It  is 
found  not  only  in  Egypt ;  I  saw  it  also  in  France,  Italy, 
the  Crimea,  and  along  the  Caucasus. 

We  come  now  to  a  species  of  insects  which  are  in  rather 
bad  repute  among  farmers,  because  they  feed  on  decayed 


38  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

wood,  and  because  some  of  them  deposit  their  eggs  in  the 
crevices  of  the  bark  of  many  trees.  I  do  not  here  speak 
of  the  destructive  Wood-borers  or  Weevils,  but  only  of  those 
insects  which  feed  on  decayed  or  rotten  wood  ;  and  if  our 
farmers  call  these  creatures  wood-destroyers,  I  think  the 
beetles  may  with  more  propriety  apply  the  epithet  to  the 
farmers  themselves,  who  really  destroy  an  immense  amount 
of  timber  unnecessarily,  and  even  hire  men  to  help  them  do 
so.  I  allude  to  the  common  practice  of  inclosing  our  lands 
with  expensive  wood  fences,  which,  indeed,  may  be  neces- 
sary in  a  newly-settled  country  like  the  Far  West,  but 
which  are  not  at  all  necessary  in  our  old,  well-cultivated 
States. 

I  am  aware  that  this  subject  has  been  somewhat  agitated 
of  late  among  agriculturists,  and  I  trust  these  remarks  may 
reach  the  ears  of  some  who  will  be  convinced,  with  me, 
that  the  practice  of  laying  out  whole  farms  with  these  ex- 
pensive inclosures  is  a  wasteful,  extravagant  throwing  away 
of  wood.  I  believe  it  to  be  a  fact  that,  if  our  country  had 
not  been  wonderfully  favored  with  inexhaustible  coal-mines, 
our  woodlands  would  long  ago  have  been  deprived  of  their 
trees,  and  fuel  would  have  to  be  sold  by  the  pound.  Now 
our  farmers  not  only  incur  the  expense  of  timber  and  man- 
ual labor  in  building  these  wooden  fences,  but  they  must 
be  at  the  additional  expense  of  repairing  them  every  year; 
and  if  all  this  were  entirely  avoided  they  would  actually 
realize  more  benefit  from  their  estates.  It  is  true  that  if 
there  are  no  fences  in  the  country  the  cattle  must  stay  at 
home,  lest  they  injure  the  fields  and  meadows,  and  that  ev- 
ery farmer  on  this  continent  would  be  obliged  to  resort  to 
stall-feeding,  and  keep  his  cows,  oxen,  hogs,  etc.,  in  the 
barn-yards.  But  by  doing  so  he  will  be  the  gainer,  for  he 
will  save,  first,  his  timber  ;  second,  the  Avages  for  making 
his  fences  ;  third,  his  cows,  by  being  kept  at  home,  will 
produce  more  milk,  butter,  and  cheese ;  fourth,  he  will  save 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  39 

a  large  amount  of  manure,  which  he  loses  if  his  cattle  are 
allowed  to  ramble  in  the  woods  and  pastures ;  and,  lastly, 
by  having  no  inclosures,  except  around  his  garden  and  or- 
chards (and  hedges  are  even  here  far  better  than  fences),  he 
will  beautify  his  whole  estate  and  country  by  depriving  it 
of  that  confined  and  prison-like  appearance  which  wood 
fences  and  stone  walls  necessarily  give  it. 

It  is  a  very  difficult  matter  to  eradicate  inveterate  super- 
stitions, and  it  is  equally  hard  to  break  up  old  habits. 
Notwithstanding  the  plow  has  been  used  from  time  almost 
immemorial,  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Domingo  have  not  yet 
adopted  it,  but  still  prefer  the  hoe  and  spade,  and  to  hoe 
and  plant  an  acre  of  Indian  corn  is  there  the  work  of  four 
Aveeks  for  one  man.  But  "  a  word  to  the  wise  should  be 
sufiicient." 

With  regard  to  wood-destroying  insects  in  general,  it 
must  be  remarked  that  they  are  of  the  greatest  importance 
in  the  tropics,  as  well  as  in  those  uninhabited  countries 
where  many  hundred  miles  are  often  covered  with  impene- 
trable forests,  where  hurricanes,  tempests,  and  earthquakes 
break  down  gigantic  trees,  which,  if  left  alone,  would  not 
decay  for  years,  but  which  are  reduced  to  dust  in  a  short 
time  by  wood-eating  insects,  and  a  new  and  vigorous  vege- 
tation springs  up  from  the  soil  made 
fertile  by  that  dust.     This  phenomenon  Figure  . 

may  be  observed  to  a  certain  extent 
even  in  our  own  woods. 

One  of  these  Beetles,  which,  in  com- 
pany with  its  offspring,  feeds  on  rotten 
wood,  is 

The  Horned  Passalus  (Passalus 
cornutus). — This  Beetle  is  about  IJ 
inches  long.  It  is  black,  and  has  a 
slender  body.  Its  antennas  are  rather 
more   denticulated  than  those  of   the        Horned  Passaius. 


40  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Lamellicorn.  Its  head  is  very  short,  but  provided  with  a 
curved  horn  two  lines  in  length.  It  has  two  very  short, 
pincher-like  jaws,  a  bright,  vaulted  thox-ax,  with  an  inter- 
mediate line,  Aving-covers  striated  and  very  bright,  and  six 
short  legs,  covered  with  brown  hair.  It  lives  in  the  trunks 
of  decayed  trees,  and  is  found  in  all  parts  of  our  country, 
from  New  England  to  Mexico  and  the  West  India  Islands. 
Neai'ly  allied  to  this  insect,  and  very  much  resembling  it 
in  many  respects,  is 

The  Stag  Beetle  (Lucanus  dama).  —  This  is  an  insect 
known  to  almost  every  body.  It  is  an  inch  and  a  half 
long,  of  a  chestnut  color,  with  pi-ominent  pincher-like  jaws, 
which,  however,  in  the  female,  are  very  short,  and  not  larger 
than  those  of  the  Horned  Passalus.  Its  legs  are  quite  long, 
and  terminate  in  two  sharp  claws. 

They  are  called  Stag  Beetles  on  account  of  their  pronged 
jaws,  similar  to  the  horns  of  stags.  They  live  principally 
upon  oak  trees,  and  lick  the  dew  from  the  trees,  as  well  as 
the  sweet  brown  juice  Avhich  oozes  out  from  the  stem  of  oak 
trees,  and  if  you  put  honey  on  the  point  of  a  knife  they  will 
follow  after  it,  as  a  dog  Avill  follow  a  piece  of  meat.  They 
may  be  seen  flying  around  these  trees  toward  night  in  the 
months  of  July  and  August. 

These  Beetles  are  well  known  to  our  youth,  and  attract 
their  attention  by  their  singular  form,  but  particularly  by 
their  prominent  jaws,  with  which  they  pinch  very  hard. 
Wood-cutters  often  bring  them  home  as  playthings  for  their 
children,  for  which  present,  however,  the  little  fellows  some- 
times have  to  pay  with  their  teai's.  In  some  countries  the 
boys  make  tiny  wagons,  which  they  load  with  cherries  or 
raspberries,  and  to  which,  for  their  amusement,  they  har- 
ness these  Beetles,  making  them  as  beasts  of  draught. 

In  the  month  of  June  or  July,  according  to  the  temper- 
ature of  the  country,  the  Stag  Beetle  deposits  in  decayed 
oak  wood  her  eggs,  which  are  oval  and  yellow,  the  larvre 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  41 

proceeding  from  which  live  from  four  to  six  years  before 
they  become  perfect.  When  full  grown,  they  are  three 
inches  long,  thick,  of  a  straw  color,  with  a  yellow  head, 
brown  jaws,  and  nine  air-holes  on  each  side  of  the  body. 

Two  years  ago  I  removed  the  post  of  my  garden  gate, 
which  was  of  oak  and  had  become  decayed,  and  found 
around  it,  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  more  than 
thirty  of  these  grubs,  which  I  put  in  a  vessel  with  the  same 
decayed  wood,  but  they  died  during  the  winter. 

The  Stag  Beetle  of  Europe  is  of  the  same  form  and  color, 
but  more  than  as  large  again,  and  is  therefore  the  largest 
Beetle  of  Europe. 

The  Cossus  (grubs),  which  the  ancient  Eomans  considered 
so  great  a  delicacy,  were  taken  by  them  from  oak-trees,  and 
were  probably  the  same  species.  Pliny  says,  "  Praegrandes 
roborum  delicatiores  sunt  in  cibo :  Cossos  vocant." 

The  larva  of  the  Stag  Beetle,  when  full  grown,  prepares 
from  the  earth  its  cocoon,  which  is  of  an  oval  form,  and  in 
which  it  remains  about  four  weeks,  after  which  time  it 
emerges  as  a  perfect  insect.  These  Beetles  are  found  in  all 
the  States  of  the  Union. 

The  Indian  Cetonia  (Cetonia  Inda). — One  of  the  ear- 
liest Beetles  which  the  wandering  natural-         Figure  8. 
ist  meets  on  his  exploring  expeditions  is  the 
pretty  Indian  Cetonia.     These  little  creat- 
ures, clad  in  a  modest  copper-brown  dress, 
and  covered  with  short  hairs,  are  seen,  in 
the   months  of  April   and  May,  flying  like 
bumble-bees  for  short   distances   only  and 
then  alighting  in  the  sand.     Their  beauty 
and   their   early  appearance   very  generally  awaken  the 
pleasant  anticipations  of  a  tropical  temperature. 

Several  years  ago  I  made  an  excursion  on  the  first  day 
of  May  with  a  young  gentleman  from  Germany,  an  enthu- 
siastic amateur  in  Entomology  and  Natural  History  gener- 


42  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

ally,  like  most  of  the  students  of  the  Old  Country.  All  at 
once  he  stopped,  bent  down  to  the  ground  and  picked  up 
one  of  these  little  Cetonias,  and,  holding  it  up  in  his  hand, 
he  exclaimed  in  ecstasy,  as  if  addressing  the  dearest  object 
of  his  heart  : 

"Der  erste  Tag  im  Monat  May 
1st  mir  der  gliicklichste  von  alien, 
Dich  sah  ich,  und  gestand  dir  frei 
Am  ersten  Tag  im  Monat  May, 
Dass  dir  mein  Herz  gewogen  sei. 
Hat  mein  Gestandniss  dir  gefallen, 
So  ist  der  ers-te  Tag  im  Monat  May, 
Fiir  mich  der  gliicklichste  von  alien." 

Which,  translated,  reads:  "The  first  day  of  the  month  of 
May  is  the  happiest  day  of  all  to  me.  'Twas  on  that  day 
I  first  beheld  thee  and  my  heart  confessed  me  thine.  If  my 
confession  pleases  thee,  then  ever  will  the  first  day  of  the 
month  of  May  be  the  happiest  of  all  the  days  to  me." 

This  little  insect  is  about  half  an  inch  long,  and  feeds 
upon  the  pollen  of  the  stamens  of  flowers — it  sucks  also 
the  sap  of  trees,  principally  that  of  willows,  and  deposits  its 
eggs  at  the  side  of  roads,  or  in  places  where  garden  weeds 
are  heaped  up,  and  in  decayed  wood.  Its  larvae  feed  on 
different  kinds  of  roots.  Reasoning  from  analogy  with  the 
nature  of  other  species  of  Cetonia,  I  should  conclude  that 
the  larvae  of  this  Beetle  continue  in  that  condition  upward 
of  three  years  before  they  become  perfect 
Figure  9.        Beetles. 

The  Fox-like  Cetonia  {AmpMcoma  vul- 
2nna),  Fig.  9,  is  also  a  native  of  North 
America.  It  is  of  about  the  same  size  as 
the  Indian  Cetonia,  but  more  slender,  and 
covered  all  over  with  long  reddish  hair,  re- 
sembling a  fox. 
Fox-like  Cetonia.        Another  insect  belonging  to  the  family 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  43 

of  Scavenger  Beetles  is  the  horned  Fungus  Eater  (Boleto- 
phagus  cornutus),  which  feeds  not  only  on  decayed  fungus 
and  mushrooms,  but  also  on  decayed  wood.  The  male 
and  female  species  of  this  insect  I  have  lately  received 
from  my  esteemed  friend,  David  Smith,  M.D.,  of  Provi- 
dence, from  whose  entomological  researches  I  have  ob- 
tained many  interesting  facts,  and  to  whose  kindness  I  am 
indebted  for  the  free  use  of  his  valuable  library. 

This  insect  is  represented  by  the  late  Thomas  Say,  in 
his  American  Entomology,  Plate  51,  without,  however, 
making  any  mention  of  its  habits,  use,  or  injury. 

The  Fungus  Eater  is  about  half  an  inch  long,  and  is  re- 
markable for  its  singular  form.  Its  head  has  two  little 
horns  upon  its  margin,  which  are  curved  backward  and  in- 
ward, resembling  that  of  a  Babyroussa.  Its  thorax  has  two 
larger  horns,  which  are  curved  and  directed  forward,  look- 
ing like  a  bull's  head,  and  its  wing-covers  are  surmounted 
by  so  many  tubercles  that  their  whole  appearance  is  like 
that  of  a  Turkish  country  metschet  or  mosque,  covered 
with  a  number  of  small  minarets  or  spires. 

The  body  of  this  animal  is  of  a  dark  ash-color  and  hairy, 
and  it  lives  principally  in  fungi  and  in  decayed  wood. 

Another,  and  a  very  important  class  of  insects,  belong- 
ing to  this  family,  are  the  Carrion  Beetles,  which  feed 
on  dead  or  dried  animal  bodies,  of  the  higher  as  well  as  the 
lower  classes.  They  eat  the  flesh,  fat,  skin,  and  intestines 
of  dead  beasts,  birds,  fishes,  and  the  internal  parts  of  pre- 
served insects.  Hence  we  see  very  few  of  them,  for  they 
boi'e  into  those  bodies  and  conceal  themselves  in  them,  de- 
vouring their  decayed  parts,  and  depositing  their  eggs  in 
them.  Those  who  will  dare  encounter  fetid  exhalations 
and  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  the  putrid  cadavers 
of  horses  or  cows,  or  any  other  dead  animal  that  is  left  ex- 
posed to  the  air,  will  find  a  very  large  company  of  Carrion 
Beetles,  of  dififerent   genera   and   species,  in  a  variety  of 


44  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

different  uniforms;  some  looking  like  martial  officers,  or- 
namented with  one  or  two  golden  epaulets ;  others,  like 
chamberlains  of  a  despotic  sovereign,  ornamented  with  a 
golden  royal  chamber-key  on  their  side  ;  others  in  ordinary 
working  dress,  and  altogether  quite  respectable  and  corpu- 
lent in  their  appearance,  because  they,  like  the  persons 
they  so  much  resemble,  live  also  on  the  fat  of  their  fellow- 
creatures. 

Now  the  greatest  part  of  these  Beetles,  as  I  have  already 
mentioned,  are  very  beneficial  to  man,  by  consuming  car- 
rion and  all  decomposing  substances.  But  there  is  one 
particular  genus  of  them  against  which  the  naturalist  al- 
ways makes  war,  notwithstanding  it  is  not  larger  than  two- 
thirds  of  a  line.  This  small  insect  is  called  the  Cabinet  Bee- 
tle {Anthrenus  viusceorum),  and  is  of  a  dark-brown  color,  cov- 
ered with  gray  scales  forming  three  stripes  across  the  wing- 
covers.  If  these  scales  are  wiped  off  the  insect  appears 
black,  and  loses  its  specific  character. 

In  spite  of  its  diminutive  size  this  insect  is  a  great  plague 
to  all  cabinets  of  Natural  History,  and  if  they  are  not  well 
protected  against  it,  they  will  all  be  destroyed  by  it  in  a 
short  time;  for  its  larvae  are  able  to  make  holes  through  the 
hardest  boards,  and  will  make  their  way  unperceived  into 
any  case  whatever.  They  eat  the  skins  of  stuffed  animals, 
and  particularly  the  internal  parts  of  insects,  of  which  they 
leave  nothing  but  the  wings.  Thus  the  most  precious  and 
costly  collections  will  be  entii'ely  destroyed  by  it,  if  the  ne- 
cessary precautions  are  not  taken  to  prevent  it. 

The  late  General  Andrew  Jackson,  President  of  the 
United  States,  presented  me  in  1834  with  two  large  boxes 
of  splendid  South  American  Beetles  and  Butterflies,  but, 
much  to  my  regret,  on  opening  them  I  found  the  largest 
and  handsomest  specimens  destroyed  by  this  little  enemy 
of  naturalists.  I  succeeded,  however,  in  saving  a  large 
number  of  them  from  entire  destruction  by  putting  them 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  45 

into  alcohol,  and  by  making  artificial  heads  and  bodies  out 
of  cork,  and  then  painting  them  and  fastening  the  wings  to 
them  with  gum-arabic. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  prevent  your  cases  of  insects  from 
being  destroyed  by  this  Cabinet  Beetle,  it  is  necessary  to 
have  the  lining  of  the  boxes,  whether  it  be  of  cork  or  wax, 
well  impregnated  with  spii'its  of  turpentine,  and,  besides 
this,  it  will  be  well  to  fasten  in  each  corner  of  the  box  a 
pin  with  a  small  piece  of  sponge  attached  to  it,  which  may 
be  saturated  from  time  to  time  with  the  same  fluid,  or  with 
spirits  of  camphor.  The  latter,  however,  can  not  be  used 
in  cases  which  contain  butterflies,  as  the  evaporation  of 
camphor  will  make  their  colors  fade.  The  cases  them- 
selves, as  a  matter  of  course,  should  be  made  as  tight  as 
possible,  in  order  to  prevent  the  entr.ance  of  any  living  in- 
sect. 

The  larva  of  the  Cabinet  Beetle  is  two  lines  in  length, 
and  has  on  each  side  of  the  body  little  bundles  of  reddish- 
brown  hairs,  which,  when  disturbed,  it  erects  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  Porcupine  does  its  quills.  These  larvae  are 
sometimes  seen  upon  our  walls  looking  out  for  dead  insects. 

The  Carrion  Beetles  {Silphcc)  have  a  broad  body,  with 
a  shield-like  thorax,  upon  which  is  a  declining  head  with 
strong  jaws,  and  with  antennas  terminating  in  a  knob.  A 
great  number  of  species  are  found  every  where  in  North 
America,  among  which  are,  for  instance,  the 

Silpha  marginalis, 
"      infequalis, 
"      Surinamensis, 
"      Americana,  etc. ; 

but  as  the  habits  and  character  of  one  species  are  identical 
with  all  the  others,  the  representation  and  description  of 
one  will  serve  for  all  the  rest. 

The  Crusader  Carrion  Beetle  {Silpha  Americana)  is 
more  than  half  an  inch  long,  has  a  black  head,  yellow  tho- 


46  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

rax,  with  a  large  black  spot  resembling  a  cross  in  the  mid- 
Figure  10.         die,  somewhat  hke  that  on  the  coat  of  the 
ancient  Crusaders,  on  which  account  I  give 
it  this  name.     It  has  dark-brown  chased 
wing-covers  and  black  legs.     These  insects 
live  together  in  flocks  of  immense  numbers 
in  the  body  of  some  cai-rion,  Avhere  they 
Crusader  Carrion    ^"^^d  together  in  the  greatest  harmony ;  and 
Beetle.  ^^^qj  may  always  be   obtained  with  ease, 

provided  one  will  put  up  with  the  fetid  exhalations  which 
surround  them. 

Another  insect  belonging  to  this  family  of  Scavenger  Bee- 
tles, and  one  Avhich  has  a  similar  appetite  for  decayed  ani- 
mal substance,  is 

The  Big  Grave-digger  (N'ecrophonis  grandis),  of  which 
there  ai'e  also  several  species.  This  Beetle  has  a  large 
black  head,  with  antenna3  terminating  in  an  orange-col- 
ored knob,  a  round  black  thorax,  and  orange-colored  trun- 
cated wing-covers,  with  an  undulating  black  band  crossing 
the  middle  of  both  wings.  The  habits  of  this  animal  are 
very  curious  and  astonishing. 

The  dead  body  of  a  frog,  mouse,  bird,  mole,  snake,  or 
toad,  lying  in  a  garden,  field,  or  meadow,  is  immediately 
scented  by  these  Grave-diggers,  who  run  to  it  in  great  num- 
bers in  order  to  conceal  it  in  the  ground.  First  they  run 
around  it,  and  examine  it  from  all  sides,  as  if  they  wished 
to  measure  its  size ;  then  they  proceed  to  examine  the 
ground  to  see  if  there  are  any  stones  in  it  which  would 
prevent  them  from  digging.  Finally,  after  having  selected 
a  place  well  adapted  for  their  purpose,  they  by  their  com- 
bined efforts  move  the  carrion  there,  placing  themselves 
under  it,  and  by  lifting  it  up  with  their  head  and  thorax 
they  at  the  same  time  dig  the  earth  away  with  tlieir  fore- 
feet, so  that  the  carrion  gradually  sinks  into  the  ground. 
From  time  to  time  one  or  the  other  of  the  Beetles  come  out 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  47 

from  beneath,  as  if  to  examine  the  position  and  progress  of 
the  dead  body  ;  then,  creeping  under  it  again,  the  work  re- 
commences in  concert.  After  about  three  hours  of  hard 
labor,  the  body — for  instance,  that  of  a  frog — is  so  far  bui-- 
ied  that  it  can  not  be  seen  from  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
They  then  continue  their  labors  in  this  manner  for  several 
days,  until  the  carrion  is  sunk  about  a  foot  in  the  ground, 
and  this  they  do  probably  in  order  to  prevent  the  Meat-fly 
from  depositing  her  eggs  upon  it. 

The  female  Grave-digger  deposits  in  the  carrion  about 
thirty  eggs,  w^hich  are  vrhite,  cylindrical,  and  have  a  short 
filament  at  each  extremity.  These  are  hatched  in  about 
two  weeks,  and  the  larvae  proceeding  from  them  attain  their 
full  growth  after  four  weeks  more.  At  this  period  they 
quit  the  dead  body,  go  deeper  into  the  ground,  and  form 
their  cocoons,  from  which,  after  about  four  weeks,  they  is- 
sue as  perfect  Beetles. 

The  immortal  Rosel,  in  his  '■'■  Imecten  Belustigung'^ 
(Amusements  with  Insects),  1748-1761,  has  made  some 
very  interesting  and  profound  observations  with  regard  to 
this  insect,  which  all  would  be  pleased  to  hear,  but  which 
our  limits  forbid  us  to  relate. 

We  proceed,  then,  to  the  third  natural  family  of  the 
Coleoptera. 

Herbivorous  Beetles,  or  Plant  Eateis. 

The  Herbivorous  Beetles  are  all  provided  with  a  horny 
skin  and  very  hard  wing-covers.  Both  as  grubs  and  as 
perfect  Beetles  they  feed  on  vegetable  substances.  Some 
on  green  wood,  as  the  Spring  and  Capricorn  Beetles ;  some 
on  fruit  and  seeds,  as  the  different  kinds  of  Weevils  or 
Snout  Beetles  ;  and  others  on  leaves,  as  the  Cucumber 
Beetle. 

As  these  insects  infringe  the  privileged  prerogatives  of 
man,  who,  like  every  kingly  despot,  imagines  that   every 


48  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

living  being  in  his  dominion  was  created  only  for  his  sake 
— as  they  destroy  the  wood  destined  for  our  fences,  fuel, 
and  furniture — as  they  devour  our  cherries,  pears,  apples, 
plums,  chestnuts,  peas,  rice,  and  wheat,  and  all  our  fruit — 
as  they  eat  up  the  leaves  of  our  garden,  orchard,  and  fruit 
trees,  they  are,  and  always  have  been,  considered  as  the  en- 
emies of  mankind.  A  universal  war  is  carried  on  against 
them,  and  agricultural  and  horticultural  journals  are  filled 
with  recipes  of  diflferent  preparations,  and  directions  for 
their  destruction,  like  our  newspapers  with  panaceas  for 
consumption,  rheumatism,  and  all  other  "  ills  which  flesh  is 
heir  to." 

But,  after  all,  it  has  been  the  entomologist  who,  by  his 
indefatigable  researches  and  observations,  has  discovered 
their  real  benefit  or  injury,  that  has  protected  man  against 
them,  and  them  against  man  ;  it  was  he  who  looked  for 
their  abodes,  learned  their  habits,  character,  mode  of  prop- 
agation, and  duration  of  life  ;  it  was  he  who  discovered 
their  use  or  their  injury,  and  taught  mankind  the  use  which 
can  be  made  of  the  beneficial  ones,  and  the  only  sure  means 
of  preventing  the  baleful  ravages  of  the  noxious  ones.  It 
is  for  this  purpose  that  the  naturalist  collects  them,  even 
the  smallest  insects  that  live,  preserves  them  in  his  cabinet, 
watches  them  with  unwearied  care  and  perseverance,  and 
aicquaints  his  fellow-men  with  the  results  of  his  laborious 
researches. 

Such  a  philosopher  was  in  ancient  times,  and,  I  am  sorry 
to  add,  is  even  now  in  modern  times,  too  apt  to  be  consid- 
ered by  the  ignorant  and  money-loving,  money-makifig  mass 
of  the  people  as  a  trifling  enthusiast,  too  lazy  to  work  for 
his  bread ;  and  should  he  sacrifice  his  time  and  his  pecun- 
iary means  in  these  benevolent  and  truly  philanthropic  la- 
bors, he  is  without  gratitude,  or  even  sympathy,  from  those 
he  most  benefits,  living  only  on  the  hope  and  the  conscious- 
ness that  future  generations  will  reward  the  ingratitude  of 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  49 

the  present,  instead  of  being,  as  lie  deserves,  honored  for  his 
self-denying  devotion,  loved  as  a  friend,  and  recompensed 
as  a  benefactor.  Such  things  may  be  excused  in  the  igno- 
rant ;  but  why  is  it  that  in  our  so-called  Halls  of  Learning 
so  little  attention  is  paid  to  the  study  of  the  objects  of  Na- 
ture, to  their  remarkable  properties,  and  their  wonderful  or- 
ganization, to  the  factilties  which  distinguish  them  from  all 
others,  to  their  reciprocal  affinities  and  harmonies,  and  to 
the  great  chain  which  unites  them  all  1 

The  fact  that  the  study  of  Nature  tends  directly  to  the 
civilization  of  a  nation  was  well  understood,  more  than  a 
century  and  a  half  ago,  by  that  ingenious,  self-made  man, 
Peter  the  Great,  of  Eussia.  He  conceived  the  idea  that  a 
love  for  this  department  of  science  would  contribute  much 
toward  the  civilization  and  refinement  of  his  barbarian  sub- 
jects, and  accordingly  he  established,  at  an  enormous  ex- 
pense, a  large  museum  of  Natural  History  at  St.  Peters- 
burg ;  and  in  order  to  induce  his  whisky-loving  subjects  to 
go  there,  he  ordered  a  glass  of  brandy  to  be  presented  to 
every  visitor. 

That  Muscovite  barbarian  certainly  exhibited  more  com- 
mon sense  than  the  Congressman,  in  our  modern  time,  to 
Avhom  Wilson  showed  his  work  on  American  Ornithology, 
and  who  replied,  "  We  do  not  at  all  want  such  books,  for 
any  one  can  see  birds  every  day  in  our  woods  and  orchards, 
without  paying  one  penny  for  it." 

But  to  return  to  the  Herbivorous  Beetles.  The  first  of 
which  we  shall  speak  are  the  Spring  Beetles  {Elater), 
which  are  also  called  Skippers,  or  Snapping-bugs.  They 
are  distinguished  from  all  others  by  having  an  organ  by 
means  of  which  they  are  enabled,  when  laid  on  their  backs, 
to  spring  up  into  the  air  and  recover  their  standing  posture, 
which  they  could  not  otherwise  eflPect,  as  their  legs  are  very 
short.  .This  organ  is  on  the  under  side  of  the  thorax,  be- 
tween the  fore-legs,  directed  toward  the  extremity  of  the 

C 


50 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


hind  body,  and  ending  in  a  point  which  is  inclosed  in  a 
sheath  while  .  the  animal  is  erect.  When,  therefore,  this 
insect  is  laid  upon  its  back,  it  bends  its  thorax  and  head, 
and,  at  the  other  extremity,  its  hind  body  backward  towai'd 
the  surface  upon  which  it  is  laid,  which  motion  causes  its 
spring  to  fly  out  of  its  sheath,  like  the  spring  of  a  watch, 
and  throws  the  Beetle  perpendicularly  up  in  the  air  a  dis- 
tance of  several  inches.  If  they  do  not  succeed  the  first 
time  in  recovering  their  standing  posture,  they  repeat  the 
operation  perseveringly  until  they  do,  oftentimes  to  the 
great  amusement  of  the  children,  who  catch  them  and  lay 
them  on  their  backs  in  their  hands. 

These  insects  generally  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  crevices 
of  the  bark  of  decaying  trees,  where  t-heir  larvce  live  several 
years  before  they  become  perfect  Beetles.  A  few  of  the 
smaller  species,  whose  larvae  live  in  the  ground  and  feed  on 
roots,  may  become  somewhat  injurious  to  vegetation. 

There  are  many  species  of  Spring  Beetles  on  this  conti- 
nent, which  may  be  distinguished  by  their  size,  color,  and 
antennae.     The  largest  and  hand- 
somest in  the  United  States  is 

The  Velvet-spotted  Spring 
Beetle  {Elater  occxdatus). — This 
insect  is  about  one  and  a  half 
inches  long,  and  slender:  some 
species  are  longer,  and  others 
shorter  than  this.  Its  head,  like 
that  of  all  its  kindred  species,  is 
very  small,  and  looks  as  if  it  were 
sunken  in  the  thorax,  which  is 
large,  and  composes  about  one- 
third  of  its  whole  body.  It  is  of 
a  light  brownish  color,  sprinkled 
here  and  there  with  white  spots. 
It  is  called  in  Latin  occulatus,  or 


Figure  11. 


Velvet-spotted  Spring  Cuetlc. 


> 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  51 

eyed,  because  each  side  of  its  thorax  is  ornamented  with  a 
large  circular  black  spot,  which  looks  like  an  eye.  But  as 
its  eyes  are  in  its  head,  like  all  the  others,  I  have  thought 
best  to  give  it  a  more  correct  English  name,  and  accord- 
ingly, from  the  resemblance  of  its  spots  to  velvet,  I  call  it 
the  Velvet-spotted  Spring  Beetle. 

This  Beetle  is  seen  in  all  the  States  of  the  Union,  but 
more  in  the  South  than  at  the  North.  It  is  found  mostly 
in  the  trunks  of  trees,  where  its  larva3  also  reside.  The 
larvae  have  flat  bodies,  of  an  orange  color,  and  they  live 
several  years  in  this  condition  before  they  become  perfect 
Beetles; 

The  Lightning  Spring  Beetle  (Elater  noctilucus)  is  an- 
other species  of  the  same  genus, 
and  has  a  far  more  appropriate  '^'"^^ 

Latin  name,  noctilucus,  or  night- 
illuminating,  but  its  common 
name  in  English  is  the  Cucujo. 
This  insect  is  nearly  an  inch  and 
a  half  long,  and  half  an  inch  wide. 
It  has  two  yellow,  elevated,  corn- 
like spots  upon  each  side  of  the 
thorax,  which  are  the  principal  /  ^ly 
organs    for    emitting    light,  and 

,  .  ,  ,  ,.  ,.,  Lightning  Spring  Beetle. 

which   appear,  when   alive,  like 

two  shining  emeralds.  But  besides  these  spots,  it  also 
emits  light  from  every  segment  of  the  under  side  of  its 
hind  body.  This  light  the  animal  can  produce  at  pleas- 
ure, and  when  there  are  eight  or  ten  of  them  in  one  glass, 
it  is  strong  enough  to  enable  a  person  to  read  by  it. 

Some  months  since  a  lady  presented  me  two  of  these  liv- 
ing Lightning.  Beetles,  which  she  had  received  fi'om  Cuba. 
I  kept  them  in  a  glass,  and  exhibited  them  in  a  dark  room 
to  several  of  my  friends,  who  were  much  astonished  and 
delighted  at  being  able  to  see  to  read  by  the  light  issuing 


52  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

from  them.  I  nourished  them  with  great  care,  feeding 
them  with  sugar,  their  favorite  food,  but  they  died  in  about 
ten  dajs,  and  with  their  life  disappeared  also  their  light.    7^ 

I  feel  peculiarly  grateful  to  these  little  insects,  because 
during  my  excursions  in  St.  Domingo  they  were  frequently 
the  means  of  saving  my  life.  Often  has  dark  night  sur- 
rounded me  in  the  midst  of  a  desert  forest,  or  on  the  mount- 
ains, when  these  little  animals  were  my  only  guide,  and  by 
their  welcome  light  I  have  discovered  a  path  for  my  horse 
which  has  led  me  safely  on  my  journey.  Often  have  I  felt 
grateful  to  a  wise  Providence  for  the  creation  of  these  lit- 
tle night-illuminators,  when  all  the  lamps  of  heaven  were 
shrouded  with  impenetrable  darkness,  and  when,  but  for 
their  light-giving  presence,  I  should  have  wandered  for 
hours  in  a  dreary  forest,  or  been  precipitated  from  a  mount- 
ain ridge  down  a  fathomless  abyss.  Thrice  often  have  I 
been  convinced  that  no  object  of  Nature  was  created  with- 
out being  designed  for  some  important  use,  and  many,  many 
times,  in  my  wanderings,  have  I  exclaimed  wdth  Southey, 

"  Sorrowing  we  beheld 
The  night  come  on:   but  soon  did  night  display 
More  wonders  than  it  vail'd :   innumerous  tribes 
From  the  wood-cover  swarmed,  and  darkness  made 
Their  beauties  visible;   a  while  they  streamed 
A  bright  blue  radiance  i;pon  flowers  that  closed 
Their  gorgeous  colors  from  the  eye  of  day ; 
Then,  motionless  and  dark,  eluded  search, 
Self-shrouded ;    and  anon,  starring  the  sky, 
Kose  like  a  shower  of  fire." 

These  Lightning  Beetles  are  found  in  all  the  West  India 
Islands,  in  Mexico,  and  Texas,  and  how  far  north  they  are 
seen  I  can  not  exactly  ascertain,  but  several  species  of 
them,  possessing  the  same  luminous  qualities,  are  found  in 
the  tropics  of  America. 

Their  light  is  emitted  from  a  phosphorescent  substance, 


ORDER    I BEETLES.  53 

whicli  forms  one  of  the  constituent  ingredients  of  tbeir  bod- 
ies, and  which  they  can  exhibit  or  not,  at  pleasure.  With 
this  substance  this  species  of  Beetle  act  very  much  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  Chameleon  and  other  lizards  do  with 
the  fluids  of  their  body,  by  means  of  which  they  change 
their  color  as  often  and  as  rapidly  as  they  wish.  That  this 
phosphorescent  substance  is  an  ingredient  of  their  bodies 
may  be  determined  by  mashing  them,  even  after  death, 
when  it  will  be  found  that  the  same  light  is  emitted  as 
during  life,  and  if  rubbed  against  any  rough  surface  a 
streak  of  light  will  be  produced  resembling  that  of  burning 
phosphorus. 

Whether  this  light  is  given  to  this  animal  for  the  pur- 
pose of  pointing  out  its  way  in  the  dark,  or  for  enabling  it 
to  find  its  companions  in  the  night,  or  perhaps,  by  inspii'- 
ing  fear,  to  serve  as  a  defensive  weapon  against  its  noctur- 
nal enemies,  can  not  be  exactly  determined.  It  is  certain, 
however,  that  this  light  has  often  frightened  ignorant  peo- 
ple, who  were  wholly  unacquainted  with  the  objects  of  Na- 
ture, and  who  have  actually  taken  these  insects  for  ghostly 
spectres  or  the  spirits  of  their  departed  friends.  How  many 
like  absurdities  would  be  banished  from  the  common  mind 
were  the  study  of  Natural  History  more  popular  and  more 
universally  pursued !  Why  Avill  the  young  of  this  genera- 
tion be  content  to  look  at  Nature  "  as  through  a  glass  dark- 
ly," when  properly  directed  study  might  remove  the  scales 
from  their  eyes,  and  enable  them  to  see  the  light  radiating 
from  a  thousand  points  hitherto  enshrouded  with  the  mists 
and  shadows  of  ignorance  and  superstition  ! 

The  grubs  of  the  Lightning  Spring  Beetle,  like  most  of 
this  family,  are  injurious  to  vegetation,  living  in  sugar-cane 
and  trees,  and  converting  them  into  saw-dust.  But  not  less 
destructive  are  the  innumerous  tribe  of 


54  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS.  ' 

Capricorn  Beetles,  or  Long-horned  Beetles  (Cferambicinae). 

These  Beetles  are  so  called  on  account  of  their  long  feel- 
ers (antennae),  which  resemble  those  of  a  mountain  goat,  and 
which,  in  some  species,  are  longer  than  their  body.  They 
may  also  be  recognized  by  their  hard,  horny  skin,  and  by 
the  four  joints  on  each  foot. 

Their  body  is  cylindrical ;  their  head  short,  broad,  and 
bent  downward,  provided  with  strong  jaivs,  as  also  Avith 
long,  bristle-shaped  antenna  ;  their  thorax  is  generally  cyl- 
indrical, but,  in  some  species,  flat,  and  armed  with  thorns 
on  both  sides  ;  it  emits  a  sound  which  is  effected  by  friction, 
that  is,  by  moving  it  continually  up  and  down,  like  a  per- 
son rocking  in  a  rocking-chair.  On  this  account  the  Ger- 
mans call  them  "  fiddlers." 

These  Beetles,  particularly  those  of  the  Southern  States 
and  of  the  tropics,  are  very  handsome,  and  usually  attract 
a  good  deal  of  attention  by  their  elegant  forms  and  fine 
colors.  But  their  grubs  are  ugly,  and  none  of  them  of  a 
handsome  color.  They  live  always  under  the  bark,  or  in 
the  interior  of  the  trunks  of  trees,  where  they  dig  serpentine 
passages,  converting  the  wood  into  a  mealy  dust  with  which 
they  stop  up  the  entrance  to  their  abode.  Here  they  live, 
feeding  continually  on  the  green  wood,  for  two  or  three 
years,  until  they  are  ready  to  metamorphose  themselves  into 
cocoons,  from  which  they  afterward  issue  as  perfect  Beetles. 

The  numerous  species  of  Capricorn  Beetles  differ  from 
one  another  in  color,  in  the  length  of  their  antennae,  and 
also  in  respect  to  their  size.  The  Clytus  pictus,  for  instance 
(Fig.  13),  is  a  North  American  species,  and  is  only  a  few 
lines  long,  while  the  Prionus  Hayesii,  a  Capricorn  Beetle  of 
Western  Africa,  is  nearly  five  inches  long  and  one  inch 
broad.  Its  antennae  measure  seven  inches,  and  its  legs  are 
four  inches  long.  This  gigantic  insect  is  of  a  dark  brown 
color,  and  has  many  thorns  upon  the  thorax. 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  55 

The  Painted  Capricokn  (Clytus pictus). — This  beautiful 
insect  is  one  of  our  autumnal  visitors, 
and  one  of  the  countless  host  of  evi- 
dences that  the  rolling  year  is  full,  only 
as  eveiy  season  brings  its  own  peculiar 
charms.  Spring  is  the  time  of  youth, 
of  buds,  and  of  flowers;  autumn  the 
harvest  of  maturity,  of  blossoms,  and 
of  fruit.  If  the  merry  mouth  of  May 
adorns  our  woods  and  meadows  with 

.  .  Painted  Capricorn. 

their  youthful  vegetation,  then-  chirping 
birds  and  delicate  flowers,  so  is  the  beginning  of  autumn 
none  the  less  lavish  in  its  golden  harvest  of  grain,  its  melo- 
dious songsters,  and  its  crown  of  brilliant  flowers.  There, 
from  the  red-leaved  bushes,  the  tall  Eudbeckia  peeps  out 
its  golden  head ;  here,  the  blue  Vernonias  and  Liatris  min- 
gle with  the  yellow  Helianthus  and  Coreopsis,  forming  showy 
figures  upon  the  green  velvet  carpet  of  the  field ;  while  the 
purple  and  white  Eupatoriums,  blending  with  the  rosy  Spi- 
reas  and  crimson  Cardinal  flowers,  and  all  bordered  by  the 
variegated  Asters  and  perfumed  Golden-rod,  form  one  magic 
sheet  of  kaleidoscopic  images  ! 

It  is  upon  the  slender  Golden-rod,  feasting  upon  the  pol- 
len of  its  flowers  and  upon  its  aromatic  leaves,  that  we  see 
the  handsome  little  Painted  Capricorn  Beetle.  This  insect 
is  little  more  than  half  an  inch  long,  and  of  a  cylindrical 
form.  Its  whole  body  is  black,  and  looks  like  velvet.  Its 
head  and  thorax  are  crossed  with  yellow  lines,  and  its  wing- 
covers  are  marked  with  lines,  triangles,  and  spots  of  the 
same  color.  Its  antennae  are  half  as  long  as  its  body,  and 
its  legs  of  a  reddish  brown  color. 

Although  this  Beetle  is  seen  in  the  month  of  September 
feeding  upon  the  flower-dust  of  the  Golden-rod,  its  children 
have  a  different  taste.  Hence  the  female  deposits  her  eggs 
in  the  crevices  of  the  bark  of  locust-trees,  and  the  grubs 


56  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

issuing  from  them  immediately  bore  holes  into  the  trunks 
of  these  trees,  making  winding  passages  through  them,  and 
feeding  exclusively  on  the  wood  and  pith.  These  insects 
continue  in  the  condition  of  grubs  only  about  a  year,  they 
being  metamorphosed  into  perfect  Beetles  in  the  following 
September ;  but  while  in  this  transition  state  they  are  very 
active,  and  the  destruction  of  locust-trees  by  them  is  very 
considerable. 

Dr.  Harris,  of  Cambridge,  in  his  Report  on  the  Injurious 
Insects  of  Massachusetts,  speaks  of  this  Beetle  particularly ; 
and  the  late  Thomas  Say,  in  his  American  Entomology, 
Table  53,  represents  four  new  species,  which  he  calls  Clytus 
speciosus,  C.  hamatus,  C.  undulatus,  and  C.  caprea. 

We  have  now  comparatively  little  to  fear  from  the  rav- 
ages of  noxious  insects,  since  our  prudent  Legislatures  have 
enacted  laws  for  the  protection  of  birds,  the  great  destroy- 
ers of  insects,  and  it  is  probably  on  this  account  alone  that 
many  species  of  insects  injurious  to  vegetation  have  almost 
entirely  disappeared.  In  my  travels  through  several  States 
I  have  not,  for  the  last  two  years,  met  with  any  of  the  Rose 
Bugs  {Macrodactyliis  subspinosus),  so  destructive  to  every 
flower,  nor  with  any  of  the  Spotted  Rutela  {Rutela  punctata), 
so  injurious  to  the  grape-vine.  Even  the  May  Beetles 
{Meloloutha  quercicula)  are  not  seen  in  such  abundance  as  in 
previous  years,  and,  should  the  laws  for  the  protection  of 
birds  be  much  more  strenuous,  I  fear  our  poor  entomologists 
■will  be  entirely  thro^vn  out  of  employment.  It  is  a  matter 
of  congratulation,  however,  that  our  favorite  birds  are  so 
well  protected  by  the  laws  of  some  of  our  States,  and  by 
the  general  consent  of  the  people.  They  are  more  to  be 
admired,  even  for  their  beauty,  than  most  of  our  noxious 
insects,  and  certainly  reward  us  by  saving  our  trees  and 
shrubs,  and  by  furnishing  us  a  wholesome  and  palatable 
article  of  food. 

The  CLOAK-BEAJimG  Capbicoen  {Desmocerus  palliatus) 


ORDER    I. BEETLES. 


57 


Cloak-bearing  Capricorn. 


is  another  Beetle  of  the  same  family.     It  is  about  one  inch 
long,  and  of  a  changeable  blue  color,  Figure  u 

except  the  upper  part  of  the  wing- 
covers,  which  is  of  a  pale  orange 
color,  and  gives  the  animal  the  ap,- 
pearance  of  one  carrying  a  cloak 
across  his  shoulders.  Hence  its 
name.  Its  antenna;  are  a  little  lon- 
ger than  half  the  length  of  its  body. 
This  insect  may  be  found  upon  the 
common  elder,  and  its  grubs  in  the 
stems  of  the  same  shrub. 

The    largest     Capricorn    of   the 
southern  parts  of  North  America  is  the  Stag  Beetle  Capri 
corn  {Prionus  cervicornis),  which  is  three  inches  and  a  half 
long,  of  a  brown  color,  and  has  jaws  like  a  Stag  Beetle,  one 
inch  long. 

But  the  handsomest  of  all  is  the  Long-armed  Capricorn 
{Lamia  longimana)  of  South  America.  It  measures  two  and 
a  half  inches  in  length,  and  one  inch  in  breadth.  Its  fore^ 
legs  are  five  inches  long.  Its  head,  thorax,  and  wing-covers 
are  dark  olive-green,  striped  with  red,  yellow,  and  white  in 
a  very  singular  manner,  and  resembling  hieroglyphics. 

Snout  Beetles  (Curculiones). 

The  Snout  Beetles  occupy  the  lowest  rank  among  Cole- 
opterous Insects,  partly  on  account  of  their  head,  which  is 
prolongated  into  a  bill-like  pointed  snout,  with  a  very  small 
mouth  at  the  end,  and  two  triangular  antenna;,  and  partly 
on  account  of  their  larvae,  which  are  maggots,  like  those 
of  flies,  having  no  legs.  The  female  of  these  insects  bores 
holes  Avith  her  pointed  mouth  in  the  vegetable  body  in 
which  she  deposits  her  eggs,  and  the  maggots  issuing  from 
them  enter  the  stems  of  annual  and  perennial  plants,  de- 
vouring all  their  internal  substance,  and  destroying  whole 
C2 


58 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INSECTS. 


plantations  and  forests.  The  ravages  occasioned  by  these 
maggots  are  seen  on  our  fruit  trees,  apples,  pears,  plums, 
chestnuts,  hazel-nuts,  and  in  the  rice,  peas,  wheat,  and 
other  grains. 

The  Palm- WEEVIL  (Calandra  palmarum)  is  one  of  the 
Figure  15.  largest  Snout   Beetles   of  North 

America,  but  it  is  found  mostly 
in  the  tropics.  I  found  it  in  St. 
Domingo,  and  have  given  an  illus- 
tration, or  rather  representation, 
of  it  in  this  work,  because  it  gives 
an  excellent  idea  of  the  form  and 
appearance  of  all  the  other  genera 
and  species  of  Curculiones.  This 
Beetle  is  about  an  inch  long,  and 
is  black ;  it  has  large  eyes,  tri- 
angular antennse  terminating  in 
a  knob,  and  a  long  snout,  upon 
which  is  a  hairy  crest  like  the 
mane  of  a  horse;  its  wing-covers 
are  striated.  Its  larva3  are  known 
in  the  tropics  of  America  under  the  name  of  Palm-worms, 
and  they  live  in  large  numbers  in  the  trunks  of  several 
Palm-trees,  but  principally  in  the  Cabbage-palm  {A7'eca 
oleracea),  which  grows  in  abundance  in  the  mountainous 
parts  of  St.  Domingo.  When  fully  grown,  they  are  about 
three  inches  long  and  one  inch  in  circumference,  of  a  dirty 
yellow  color,  with  a  black  head,  looking  like  a  piece  of  fat 
enveloped  in  a  transparent  skin.  These  disgusting-looking 
animals  are  roasted  upon  a  Avooden  spit,  or  broiled,  and 
eaten  with  dried  and  pulverized  bread,  seasoned  with  salt 
and  pepper,  and  considered  by  many  epicures  as  the  ne  plus 
ultra  of  delicacies. 

It  is  a  pity  that  the  people  of  St.  Domingo  have  not 
adopted  the  polite  custom  of  the  Austrians,  who  never  sit 


Palm- weevil. 


ORDER    I.— BEETLES.  59 

down  to  a  meal  without  bowing  profoundly  to  each  other, 
and  saying,  "  I  wish  you  a  good  appetite!"  This  friendly 
and  polite  salutation  would  be  peculiarly  apropos  before  so 
delicate  a  dish. 

The  Cabbage  Palm-tree  has  the  same  general  appearance 
as  the  Cocoa-palm,  but  its  fruits  are  not  larger  than  peas. 
The  inhabitants  frequently  cut  down  these  trees,  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  from  its  top  the  unexpanded  terminal 
leaf-bud,  which  weighs  many  pounds,  and  is  of  a  cylindric- 
al form.  This  is  called  the  Palm-cabbage,  and  is  eaten  in 
soups,  or  is  boiled  and  prepared  with  vinegar  and  oil  as  a 
salad,  and  has  really  a  delightful  taste.  Then  they  make 
incisions  in  the  trunk,  in  order  to  entice  the  Snout  Beetle 
there  by  the  evaporation  of  the  sap,  and  to  have  her  depos- 
it her  eggs  in  it,  that  they  may  afterwax'd  obtain  a  large 
crop  of  maggots. 

Another  species  of  Snout  Beetle  is  the  Wheat-weevil 
(Cakmdra  granaria\  which  is  not  larger  than  a  flea,  oblong, 
and  chestnut-colored.  These  insects  do  immense  injuries 
in  granaries  by  boring  a  hole  with  their  snout  into  the 
grains  of  wheat,  or  barley,  or  rye,  and  depositing  therein 
an  egg,  from  which  proceeds  a  white  maggot,  which  de- 
vours all  the  farinaceous  substance,  so  that  nothing  remains 
but  the  hull.  These  maggots  live  in  this  condition  about 
thirty  days,  when  they  metamorphose  into  white  cocoons, 
from  which,  after  about  ten  days,  the  perfect  Insects  pro- 
ceed, the  females  of  which  immediately  deposit  their  eggs, 
each  laying  about  one  hundred  and  fifty. 

This  Wheat-weevil  is  originally  a  native  of  Europe,  and 
seems  to  have  been  accidentally  imported  here  with  grain. 

The  Rice-weevil  (Calandra  Oryzce)  belongs  to  the  same 
genus,  and  is  found,  as  its  name  indicates,  in  rice,  where  it 
may  be  seen  every  day.  It  is  of  about  the  same  size  as  the 
pi'eceding,  but  differs  from  it  by  having  two  spots  on  each 
wing-cover. 


60  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

In  almost  all  the  different  seeds  we  find  very  small  mag- 
gots, which  are  afterward  metamorphosed  into  Coleopterous 
Insects,  and  are  on  that  account  called  Seed  Beetles.  These 
animals,  like  the  ones  we  have  just  described,  have  a  pro- 
longed snout,  but  comparatively  much  shorter,  and  a  very 
short  body. 

The  most  destructive  among  them  is  the  Pea-weevil 
(Bruchus  Pisi),  famous  in  Europe,  but  much  more  common 
in  America,  the  larvae  of  which  live  in  peas.  The  Beetle 
itself  is  about  the  size  of  a  bed-bug ;  round,  flat  on  the  up- 
per surface,  of  a  dark-brown  color,  with  white  spots  upon 
the  thorax  and  wing-covers. 

When  the  peas  are  in  blossom  and  begin  to  have  pods, 
the  females  deposit  their  eggs  upon  them,  and  we  find, 
therefore,  a  very  small  maggot  in  almost  every  green  pea, 
the  existence  of  which  can  only  be  perceived  by  a  small 
black  dot  upon  it.  In  almost  every  seed-pea,  also,  we  find 
a  perfect  Beetle,  or  at  least  an  aperture  from  which  it  has 
already  crawled  out. 

Now  as  this  is  a  fact  of  the  truth  of  which  every  one 
can  convince  himself,  it  is  safe  to  assert  that  in  eating 
green  peas  we  at  the  same  time  eat  almost  the  same  num- 
ber of  maggots.  If,  therefore,  we  are  disposed  to  be  dis- 
gusted with  the  Palm-worm  eaters,  we  would  do  well  to 
remember  that  we  practice  the  same  thing  in  the  case  of  the 
Pea-weevil. 

In  some  parts  of  Europe  they  put  their  seed-peas  into 
hot  water  before  planting,  for  the  purpose  of  killing  these 
Beetles ;  and  several  of  our  scientific  American  Horticultur- 
ists, according  to  Dr.  Harris,  advise  to  keep  seed-peas  in  air- 
tight vessels  over  one  year  before  planting  them,  or  at  least 
not  to  plant  them  before  the  end  of  May. 

The  cultivation  of  peas  is  an  extensive  branch  of  agri- 
culture in  the  Old  Country,  because  dry  peas,  well  pre- 
pared, are  the  usual  favorite  dish  of  the  farming  and  oper- 


ORDER    I. BEETLES.  61 

ative  classes  throughout  the  year.  Ilcncc  in  France,  Ger- 
many, Moravia,  and  Hungary  they  sow  peas  in  gardens, 
and  cultivate  them  in  extensive  fields. 

Leaf  Eaters  (Chrysomelince). 

The  Leaf  Eaters  are  another  species  of  noxious  Bee- 
tles, who  feed  mostly  on  leaves  or  flowers.  They  are  quite 
small,  from  three  to  five  lines  long ;  their  antennae  are  fili- 
form and  granulated,  and  their  legs  generally  short.  Their 
mouth  does  not  terminate  in  a  snout,  like  those  we  have 
before  described ;  but  it  succeeds  in  destroying  leaves  and 
flowers  in  great  numbers.  Their  body  is  oval,  and  beauti- 
fully colored,  either  crimson  or  blue,  golden-green,  azure- 
blue,  or  variegated.  Their  larvoe,  or  grubs,  have  six  legs, 
and  live  mostly  upon  leaves,  until  they  change  into  perfect 
Beetles. 

This  family  contains  a  large  number  of  genera,  of  which 
one  of  the  handsomest  is 

The  Gilded  Dandy  {Eumolpus  auratus),  which  is  found 
throughout  the  United  States  upon  the  Dogs- 

Figure  16. 

bane  {Apocynum  androsccmifoHimi),  the  leaves 
of  which  are  covered  with  them  in  July  and 
August.  This  Beetle  is  so  brilliant  that  it  is 
impossible  to  repi'esent  its  splendid  metallic 
colors  in  painting,  changing  as  they  do  from 

^  *='  °     °  -^  Gilded  Dandy. 

green  to  a  golden  yellow,  and  from  purple  to 
crimson.     Its  wing-covers  would  form   a   beautiful  orna- 
ment for  those  fancy-boxes  I  have  before  described,  as  its 
colors  are  pre-eminently  brilliant  and  showy. 


ORDER  IL 

BUGS— (HEillPTERA). 

As  no  human  eye  can  ever  penetrate  the  spangled  heav- 
ens that  roll  over  us,  covered  with  ruby  and  sapphire,  and 
the  thousand  changing  tints  that  dye  the  firmament — as  no 
created  being  can  ever  bring  into  his  scope  of  vision  that 
illimitable  space,  v^^here  the  glittering  stars  unceasingly 
twinkle  and  glow,  and  where,  o'erarching  all,  the  Milky 
Way  presents  the  blended  light  of  billions  of  shining  worlds 
— so  no  human  mind  can  ever  attain  perfection  in  the 
knowledge  of  those  countless  animated  beings  which  sur- 
round man  in  the  vast  green  temple  of  Nature.  The  ut- 
most expansion  of  the  human  intellect  can  comprehend  only 
a  small  part  of  the  wondrous  nature,  life,  and'character  of 
the  animated  masses  around  him.  The  most  gifted  genius 
and  the  highest  cultivation,  combined  with  the  longest  ex- 
perience, can  only  bring  man  to  a  knowledge  of  his  igno- 
rance and  incompetence,  and  the  burning  thirst  for  more 
knowledge  will  only  be  satiated  in  adoring  what  it  can  not 
comprehend.  True,  "  immortal  longings  are  within  us,"  but 
mortal  limits  surround  us  on  every  side,  and  he  who  has 
approached  even  these  the  nearest  will  be  abashed  at  the 
immensity  still  before  him,  and  can  only  bow  in  humility 
before  the  great  Creating  Soul  of  the  Universe,  the  all-wise, 
all-mighty,  and  all-loving  Father — the  same  incomprehensi- 
ble Being  who  has  animated  the  mountainous  bony  frame  of 
the  Elephant,  and  built  with  wondrous  skill  and  nicety  the 
delicate  structures  of  those  little  living,  moving  atoms  we 
call  Bugs !  and  not  only  has  breathed  into  them  the  breath 
of  life,  but,  more  wonderful  still,  has  provided  them  with 


ORDER    II. BUGS.  (VS 

senses,  with  internal  and  external  faculties,  and  constituted 
them  equally  essential  parts  in  the  vast  economy  of  Nature. 

Bugs  are  easily  distinguished  from  other  insects  by  hav- 
ing, mstead  of  a  mouth,  a  prolongated  horny  proboscis,  or 
snout,  in  which  are  two  pairs  of  bristles  which  they  insert 
into  the  animal  or  vegetable  body,  from  which  they  derive 
their  nourishment  by  pumping  out  its  juices.  This  pro- 
boscis is  articulated  to  the  head,  and  when  in  operation  has 
a  perpendicular,  but  when  not  in  use,  a  horizontal  position, 
being  attached  to  the  under  part  of  the  breast.  Their  head 
is  usually  small,  and  has  two  short  feelers  (antennce) ;  their 
breast  larger  than  the  head,  and  the  hind  body  is  short  and 
wide.  All  the  insects  of  this  Order,  the  Bed-bugs  and  fe- 
male Plant-lice  excepted,  have  four  wings,  which  are  ei'ect- 
ed,  as  in  the  Cicada,  known  under  the  name  of  Locust,  or 
folded  up,  as  in  the  Squash-bug  (Coreus  ti-istis). 

Bugs  do  not  metamorphose  themselves  into  Caterpillars, 
like  Butterflies ;  or  into  grubs,  like  the  May  Beetles ;  or 
into  maggots,  like  Bees  and  Flies.  They  make  no  cocoons 
or  chrysalis,  but  they  burst  from  their  eggs  in  an  almost 
perfect  condition — that  is  to  say,  with  six  legs  and  a  pro- 
boscis, but  without  wings.  The  Cicadas  form  the  only  ex- 
ception to  this  natural  rule,  and  probably  live  in  a  larva 
state  more  than  two  years  in  the  ground. 

These  insects  feed  mostly  on  the  juices  of  plants;  but 
some  of  them  pump  out  the  circulating  fluid  of  insects,  and 
even  the  blood  of  warm-blooded  animals,  on  account  of 
which  they  become  very  annoying  and  troublesome  to  man. 
Some  of  this  order  also  give  out  a  peculiarly  unpleasant 
odor  when  mashed,  an  odor  that  is  often  perceived  in  the 
mouth  when  eating  raspberries,  blackberries,  or  any  other 
berries,  and  which  is  occasioned  by  masticating  with  the 
fruit  the  eggs  which  these  insects  have  deposited  upon  It, 
and  which  are  not  easily  detected  by  the  sight.  I  once 
heard  a  country  woman  consoling  her  little  boy,  who  com- 


64  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

plained  that  the  blackberries  he  was  eating  tasted  so  much 
like  Bed-bugs,  by  telling  him,  "Never  mind,  sonny,  keep  on 
eating  them — our  doctor,  the  blacksmith,  says  they  are  good 
for  fever." 

Considered  as  a  whole,  the  insects  of  this  order  are  not 
as  injurious  as  are  Caterpillars  and  many  grubs,  but  some 
of  them  are  quite  destructive,  as,  for  instance,  the  Plant- 
lice,  which  absorb  so  much  of  the  juices  of  vegetables  as  to 
cause  their  decay.  The  Cochineal  is  the  only  insect  of 
this  Order  from  which  we  derive  great  benefit,  and  that  is 
of  vast  importance  as  a  coloring  substance.  I  say  the  only 
one — I  ought,  perhaps,  to  include  the  much-despised  Bed- 
bug, for  Avhich  I  always  had  a  great  aversion  until  I  acci- 
dentally learned  its  utility.  Some  few  years  ago  I  fell  in 
with  an  industrious  mechanic,  who  had  a  wife  and  four 
half-grown  children,  living  in  Avenue  B,  New  York — all 
healthy,  industrious,  and  in  thriving  circumstances.  He 
told  me  that  they  all  worked  every  day  from  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning  until  eleven  o'clock  at  night ;  and  when  I 
expressed  my  astonishment  at  their  being  able  to  work  so 
hard  with  only  four  hours'  sleep  at  night,  he  answered  that 
they  could  not  do  otherwise,  for  they  could  not  go  to  bed 
until  from  the  want  of  sleep  they  were  sufficiently  benumb- 
ed to  be  insensible  to  the  stings  of  the  Bed-bugs,  who  after 
about  four  hours  would  overcome  their  insensibility  and 
oblige  them  to  leave  their  beds.  Here  behold  the  utility 
of  Bed-bugs !  they  make  industrious  and  wealthy.  Per- 
haps the  consumption  of  the  midnight  oil  and  the  early  ris- 
ing of  college  students  may  also,  in  some  measure,  be  attrib- 
uted to  the  friendly  hints  of  these  interesting  insects. 

Cicadce. 

The  Cicada,  improperly  called  Locust,  contains  a  number 
of  species.  The  Red-eyed  Cicada^  tt'cacZa  sepiemdecim), 
which  in  all  entomological  works,  particularly  in  the  Unit- 


ORDER    II. BUGS, 

^    Figure  IT. 


65 


Red-eyed  Cicada. 

ed  States,  is  called  the  "  Scventeen-years'  Locust,"  makes 
its  appearance  every  year,  according  to  my  observations 
when  abroad ;  and  during  my  twenty-seven  years'  residence 
in  this  country  I  have  seen  some  of  tliem  every  year,  but 
myriads  in  1829,  1834,  1843,  and  afterward. 

Linnaeus  gave  the  specific  name  "  Septemdecitn'^  to  the 
Eed-eyed  American  Cicada,  because  with  the  specimens  of 
this  insect  sent  him  from  America  he  was  told  that  it  ap- 
peared only  every  seventeen  years — an  opinion  that  still 
now  extensively  prevails  throughout  our  country.  But  rea- 
soning from  analogy  alone  controverts  this  opinion ;  for  if 
we  consider  that  all  other  species  of  Cicadas,  either  of  the 
same  size,  or  larger,  or  smaller,  subject  to  the  same  meta- 
morphosis and  manner  of  living,  spend  only  two  years  in 
attaining  their  perfect  condition,  why  should  the  Eed-eyed 
Cicada  alone  form  an  exception  to  this  natural  law  of  their 
species  ? 

But  facts  speak  in  an  unanswerable  tone  in  this  matter. 
According  to  Dr.  Hildreth's  account  of  the '  Cicada  septejn- 
decim,  or  Seventeen-years'  Locust,  in  Professor  Silliman's 
Journal,  No.  xviii.,  July,  1830,  this  insect  appeared  in  1829 
in  immense  numbers  in  the  States  of  Mississippi,  Missouri, 
Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey.  But 
the  same  quantity  were  observed  five  years  after,  in  1834, 
in  the  States  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 


66  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

land,  Virginia,  Ohio,  Indiana,  etc.  This  insect  also  appeared 
again  nine  years  after  (1843),  in  innumerable  swarms,  in  the 
Middle,  Southern,  and  Western  States ;  and  at  every  appear- 
ance the  newspapers  say,  "  This  is  the  year  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  Seventeen-years'  Locust,  it  being  now  seventeen 
years  since  it  was  last  observed."  The  editors  of  the  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Alexandria  newspapers 
must,  therefore,  be  very  incorrect  chronologists,  or  the  years 
in  those  cities  are  much  shorter  than  elsewhere. 

Now  it  is  a  fact  that  during  my  twenty-seven  years' 
residence  in  this  country  not  a  single  summer  has  passed 
without  my  seeing  some  of  these  Red-eyed  Cicadas  in  one 
or  other  of  the  States,  and  hence  I  must  maintain  that  the 
name  Seventeen-years'  Locust  is  incorrect.* 

*  As  our  distinguished  entomologist,  Dr.  Harris,  disagrees  with  me 

with  regard  to  the  duration  of  life  of  the  Red-eyed  Cicada,  I  can  not 

omit  to  quote  his  opinions  on  this  subje(?t,  which  he  communicated  to 

me  in  the  subsequent  letter : 

"  Cambeidge,  Mabsaohubetts,  January  10,  1855. 
'■'■Professor  B.  Jaeger: 

*'  Dear  Sir, — On  the  evening  of  the  2d  instant  Professor  Agassiz 
put  into  my  hands,  as  coming  from  you,  a  copy  of  your  work  on 
North  American  Insects.  I  have  carefully  read  it  with  much  inter- 
est, and  am  particularly  pleased  with  the  anecdotes  respecting  the 
celebrated  persons  whom  you  have  known.  In  your  account  of  the 
Cicada  septemdecim  you  maintain,  contrary  to  the  current  belief  in 
this  country,  that  the  term  of  life  of  this  insect  is  not  extended  to 
seventeen  years,  but  is  limited  to  only  about  two  years ;  stating  that 
in  the  course  of  twenty-two  years'  residence  in  this  country  not  a 
single  summer  has  passed  without  your  seeing  some  of  them  in  one 
or  other  of  the  States.  You  are  not  singular  in  your  opinion,  such 
having  been  often  expressed  by  gentlemen  from  Europe  who  have 
visited  this  country — as  was  the  case,  I  believe,  with  Professor  Agas- 
siz, and  certainly  with  some  of  the  scientific  gentlemen  who  accom- 
panied him,  but  who  have  subsequently  arrived  at  entirely  different 
conclusions,  and  now  acknowledge  that  the  popular  belief  seems  to 
be  well  founded.  I  beg  you  to  understand  that  it  is  not  now,  and 
probably  never  has  been  maintained,  that  the  Seventeen-years'  Cicada 
appears  at  one  and  the  same  time,  or  in  the  same  year,  in  all  parts 


ORDER  II.— BUGS.  67 

That  there  is  a  great  difference  in  their  numbers  in  dif- 
ferent years  is  very  true,  and  tlie  same  thing  obtains  with 
regard  to  other  insects ;  some  years  we  are  overloaded  with 
them,  and  again  in  others  there  are  scarcely  any.  This  is 
particularly  the  case  with  the  Kose-bug.  The  same  thing 
also  happens  in  the  vegetable  world — one  year  we  are  fa- 
vored with  an  immense  number  of  apples,  peaches,  grapes, 
etc.,  and  the  next  year  we  see  only  a  few  of  them.  A  su- 
perabundant number  of  other  insects  which  feed  upon  the 
Cicada,  changes  of  temperature,  and  unfavorable  weather, 
are  probably  the  causes  of  increase  and  decrease  in  different 
years.  And  in  spite  of  so  many  opponents,  who  believe 
that  the  Ked-eyed  Cicada  appears  only  every  seventeen 
years,  I,  according  to  my  own  experience,  am  obliged  to 
say,  "  For  all  this,  it  appears  every  year ;"  as  Galileo,  when 
he  was  compelled  to  undergo  the  sentence  of  public  recan- 
tation for  having  taught  the  revolution  of  the  earth,  rose 

of  the  country.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  well  known  that  though  '  lo- 
cust year,'  as  it  is  improperly  called,  comes  only  once  in  seventeen 
years  in  the  same  place,  it  may  occur  in  other  places  during  various 
other  years ;  so  that  it  may  well  happen  for  a  diligent  traveler  and 
observer  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  during  a  succession  of  years, 
to  meet  with  the  same  insects  repeatedly  in  different  years  in  differ- 
ent places.  In  the  last  edition  of  my  Treatise  on  Insects  injurious 
to  "Vegetation,  I  have  given  an  enlarged  list  of  the  years  and  places 
in  which  this  Cicada  has  been  recorded  to  have  appeared.  From 
this  you  will  find  that  its  appearance  at  intervals  of  seventeen  years 
in  the  same  place  has  been  repeatedly  observed.  Some  of  the  most 
interesting  facts  in  regard  to  this  insect  were  communicated  to  me  by 
the  late  Rev.  E.  S.  Goodwin,  recording  their  appearance  in  Sandwich, 
Massachusetts.  The  summer  of  1855  is  the  time  for  their  regular 
return  at  Sandwich,  where  they  have  not  been  seen  for  some  sixteen 
years  past,  or  since  the  year  1838,  if  I  am  rightly  informed. 
"  Thanking  you  again  most  heartily  for  your  kindness, 
"I  remain,  my  dear  Sir, 

"Very  respectfully,  your  humble  servant, 

"Thaddeus  William  Hakkis." 


68  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

from  his  knees  in  saying  '■^E  gira  nemend'^ — Notwithstand- 
ing this,  it  revolves ! 

Another  very  general  and  very  popular  notion  with  re- 
gard to  the  Cicada  is,  that  it  is  the  same  sjiecies,  or  at  least 
the  same  genus,  with  that  noxious  in§ect  mentioned  in  the 
Scriptures  as  one  of  the  plagues  of  Egypt.  This  also  is  en- 
tirely incorrect. 

Eleven  different  names  of  injurious  insects  occur  in  the 
Old  Testament,  called  in  the  Hebrew  Arhe,  Gob,  Gohai, 
Gazam,  Shagab,  Chanamel,  Chasil,  Chargol,  Jelek,  Solam, 
and  Pselatsal. 

Now  in  our  English  Bibles  we  find  these  words  almost 
universally  translated  Locust,  notwithstanding  we  have 
good  reason  to  believe  that  almost  aU  these  insects  men- 
tioned are,  according  to  their  external  and  internal  con- 
struction, very  far  from  being  of  the  same  nature  with  our 
Cicada,  but  rather  belong  to  the  Grasshoppers  {Sauterelle, 
Heujiferd).  In  the  book  ofDeuteronomy,  28th  chapter,  38th 
verse,  we  read,  "Thou  shalt  carry  much  seed  out  into  the 
fields,  and  shalt  gather  but  little  in,  for  the  Locust  shall 
consume  it ;"  and  in  verse  42d,  "  All  thy  trees  and  the 
fruit  of  thy  land  shall  the  Locust  consume."  Now  we  can 
not  understand  how  it  is  possible  that  the  Cicada,  which 
with  its  proboscis  sucks  only  the  dew  of  leaves  as  its  nour- 
ishment, and  has  no  mouth  with  which  it  can  masticate  any 
thing,  could  occasion  such  immense  ravages.  But  if  we 
translate  the  Hebrew  text,  as  Martin  Luther  did,  with 
^^  HeupfercV  or  ^'-  HeuschrecM''  in  German,  and  with  '■'■  Sau- 
terelW  in  French,  which  is  "  Grasshopper"  in  English,  des- 
ignating a  very  voi-acious  insect,  provided  with  two  power- 
ful jaws,  and  an  animal  very  common  in  Africa,  Asia,  and 
the  East  of  Europe,  as  well  as  in  some  of  our  Western 
States  and  Territories,  we  readily  perceive  how  it  is  possi- 
ble for  such  a  oreatui'e  to  occasion  famine  and  pestilence. 

This  error  in  the  translation,  originating  from  ignorance 


ORDER    II. BUGS.  69 

of  entomology,  has  often  caused  intense  anxiety  and  alarm 
among  the  people  of  different  parts  of  this  country  at  the 
appearance  of  an  innumerable  swarm  of  Cicadas.  They 
have  actually  imagined  themselves  afflicted  with  the  Plague 
of  Egypt,  and  apprehended  famine  and  pestilence.  To  avoid 
this  mistake,  let  us  change  the  word  "  Locust,"  wherever 
it  occurs  in  the  Bible,  into  the  word  "  Grasshopper" — an 
insect  of  which  we  shall  presently  speak  at  length,  and  in 
whose  natural  history  will  be  found  many  additional  rea- 
sons why  it  must  be  the  insect  designated  in  Scripture,  and 
no  other. 

Our  Cicada,  commonly  called  Locust,  is  a  harmless,  love- 
ly creature,  and  has  been  celebrated  for  its  song  from  the 
most  ancient  times.  "To  the  ancient  Greeks  no  sound 
was  more  agreeable  than  the  chirping  of  Cicadas,  not  only 
because  it  seemed  to  give  life  to  the  solitude  of  the  shady 
grove  and  academic  walks,  but  because  it  always  conveyed 
to  their  minds  the  idea  of  a  perfectly  happy  being."  So 
delighted  were  they  with  its  song  that  they  kept  it  in  cages 
and  called  it  "the  Nightingale  of  the  Nymphs"  —  "the 
Sweet  Prophet  of  the  Summer" — "  the  Love  of  the  Muses," 
etc.  Lideed  it  was  regarded  by  all  as  the  happiest  as  well 
as  the  most  innocent  of  animals.  By  both  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans it  was  also  considered  as  an  excellent  article  of  food, 
particularly  the  female  before  she  had  deposited  her  eggs ; 
and  Aristotle  says  of  it,  "  Quo  tempore  gustu  suavissmice  sunt'" 
— At  .which  time  they  taste  very  sweet. 

The  genus  Cicada  is  found  in  all  the  temperate  climates 
and  warm  counti'ies  of  the  globe.  In  the  south  and  east  of 
Europe  they  are  continually  singing,  and  continually  an  ob- 
ject of  admiration.  They  dwell  upon  the  olive  and  other 
trees,  but  principally  upon  the  ash,  from  the  bai'k  of  which, 
when  pierced  by  their  stings,  there  exudes  a  liquid  sub- 
stance, which  becoming  dry  is  known  under  the  name  of 
"manna,"  and  which  some  have  supposed  to  be  identical 


70  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

with  that  manna  of  which  the  Israelites  did  eat  in  the  wil- 
derness. This  supposition,  however,  is  probably  incorrect, 
because  the  substance  of  which  we  speak  is  very  cathartic, 
and  is  used  as  such  even  at  the  present  day.  But  Ehren- 
berg  discovered  another  species  on  Mount  Sinai,  produced 
upon  the  Tamarisk-tree  by  the  stings  of  a  Plant-louse  {Coc- 
cus mayinijyarns),  which  tastes  like  honey,  and  which  may 
possibly  be  identical  with  that  mentioned  in  the  Bible. 
The  Red-eyed  Cicadaf  Cecac^a  Septemdecim,  Fig.  17),  with 
O 


Figure  IS. 


The  LyeiTiian.  . 

red-bordered  wings,  and  the  Lterman  {Cicada  tibicen,  Fig. 
18),  with  green-bordered  wings,  are  the  most  conspicuous 
species  of  North  America.  But  the  natural  history  of  all 
the  different  species  is  the  same.  All  have  an  inflected 
snout,  very  short  setaceous  antennse,  four  membranaceous 
wings,  and  six  feet.  The  females  have  a  long,  horny  ovi- 
positor, and  only  the  males  possess  the  singing  organ,  which 
is  an  extended  movable  membi'ane  on  the  under  side  of 
the  abdomen,  by  the  rapid  vibration  of  which  they  produce 
their  peculiarly  loud  and  shrill  sound.     The  females  are  all 

dumb.     Virgil  says  : 

" — raucis 
Sole  sub  ardenti  resonant  arbusta  Cicadis." 

Or,  in  English  rhyme : 

"While  the  scorching  sun  beats  down  upon  the  plain, 
The  bushes  echo  with  the  hoarse  Cicada's  strain." 


ORDER    II. BUGS. 


71 


But  Anacreon  praises  them,  and  in  one  of  his  odes  com- 
pares them  with  the  gods.  William  Spence,  in  his  "  Intro- 
duction to  Entomology,"  thus  tx'anslates  the  satirical  words 
of  the  ancient  Greek  philosopher,  Anaxagoras : 

"  Happy  the  Cicadas'  lives, 
Since  they  all  have  voiceless  wives." 

But  a  German  writer,  who  was  probably  an  old  bachelor, 
in  order  to  show  that  females  of  the  human  species  are  per- 
haps too  much  favored  with  regard  to  the  organ  of  speech, 
says,  in  a  very  sarcastic  manner : 

•'  Qaando  conveniunt  Mariella,  Sybilla,  Camilla, 
Sermonem  faciunt  et  ab  hoc,  et  ab  hac,  et  ab  ilia." 

According  to  the  observations  of  several  species  of  Ci- 
cadas made  by  Pontedera,  Aldrovand,  Keaumure,  and  many 
others,  the  females  deposit  many  hundred  eggs  in  the  ten- 
der branches  of  trees,  by  slitting  the  bark  with  their  horny, 
sharp-pointed  ovipositor.  Their  eggs  are  white,  flat,  oval, 
and  about  the  sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  length.  If  the 
weather  is  favorable  to  them,  the  eggs  are  hatched  in  about 
six  weeks,  when  the  young  ones  leave  the  tree  in  the  con- 
dition of  laryse,  each  one  being  pro-  Figure  19. 
vided  with  a  mouth  and  six  strong 
feet,  resembling  the  flea.  They  then 
retreat  into  the  ground,  where  they 
feed  on  roots,  according  to  the  obser- 
vations of  Pontedera,  for  two  yeai-s, 
after  which  time  they  come  out  of  the 
ground,  climb  upon  a  fence  or  the  trunk 
of  a  tree,  burst  their  transparent  shell 
(Fig.  19),  and  assume  their  perfect 
form  as  four-winged  insects.  They 
now  mount  in  the  air,  and  enjoy  their  Omb  of  cicada. 
short  life,  flying  from  branch  to  branch  and  from  tree  to 


72  NORTH    AMERICAN   INSECTS. 

tree,  making  music  as  they  go,  and  in  the  brief  term  of 
four  or  five  weeks  fulfill  their  last  destiny,  viz.,  to  propagate 

their  species. 

" Once  a  woiin,  a  thing  that  crept 

On  the  bare  earth,  then  wrought  a  tomb  and  slept. 
And  such  is  man — soon  from  his  cell  of  clay 
To  burst  a  seraph  in  the  blaze  of  day." 

The  Cicadas  can  not  be  classed  among  the  injurious  in- 
sects, for  they  can  not  devour  our  vegetables  and  fruits  like 
other  insects,  because  they  have  no  mouth ;  and,  as  has  been 
said  before,  they  suck  with  their  snouts  only  the  dew  of 
leaves  for  their  nourishment,  during  the  two  short  months 
of  their  existence  in  their  perfect  form.  Even  in  their  sub- 
terranean abode,  during  the  condition  of  larvae,  although 
feeding  upon  the  roots  of  several  plants,  their  injury  to  veg- 
etation is  very  trifling,  and  scarcely  enough  to  indicate  that 
the  little  creature  dwells  in  the  ground. 

On  the  other  hand,  its  utility  is  unquestioned — thousands 
of  the  feathered  tribe  find  in  them  a  delicious  food ;  and  Dr. 
Hildreth,  of  Marietta,  Ohio,  says,  in  his  work  already  men- 
tioned, that  when  the  Cicadas  first  leave  the  earth  they 
are  plump  and  full  of  oily  juices,  so  much  so  that  they 
have  been  used  in  the  manufacture  of  soap ! ! !  It  has  also 
been  reported  that  the  Indians  boil  them  and  consider  them 
a  very  palatable  dish.  "De  gustihis  non  est  disputandum" 
— Every  one  to  his  own  taste. 

The  Cicada  is  one  of  the  largest  insects  in  this  order, 
some  of  the  exotic  species  measuring  between  six  and  seven 
inches  in  the  expanse  of  their  wings.  Their  legs,  as  has 
been  seen,  are  most  adapted  for  leaping,  and  their  princi- 
pal characteristic  consists  in  the  structure  of  that  peculiar 
double  apparatus,  by  which  the  males  are  enabled  to  exe- 
cute their  music.  The  peculiar  construction  of  this  appa- 
ratus has  been  carefully  investigated  by  Reaumur,  and  made 
known  in  his  "  Memoirs." 


ORDER    II. BUGS.  73 

Mr.  Westwood,  in  his  "  Introduction  to  the  Modern 
Classification  of  Insects,"  says,  that  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  species  of  Cicada  contained  in  the  Royal  Museum  at 
Berlin,  seventy  are  from  America,  fifty  from  Africa,  twen- 
ty-five from  Asia,  including  Java,  ten  from  the  south  of 
Europe,  and  six  or  eight  from  New  Holland ;  showing  that 
it  is  chiefly  in  the  tropical  parts  of  the  world  that  the  larg- 
est and  greatest  number  of  species  are  found. 

The  Indians  of  South  America  say  and  believe  that  the 
Lyermafr  [Cicada  tibicen)  is  changed  into  the  Lantern-fly 
/  ^  {Fulgora  laternaria)^  whose  cap,  in  the  night,  emits  a  light 
similar  to  that  of  a  lantern. 

I  have  several  times  spoken  of  the  impostures  to  which 
those  are  subjected  who  are  ignorant  of  Natural  History. 
There  have  been  people  who  considered  themselves  well 
educated,  that  have  actually  believed  and  circulated  such 
absurd  fables  as,  e.  g.,  that  there  are  whole  races  of  men 
with  tails  like  those  of  the  monkey  tribe,  of  Hottentot 
women  with  natural  aprons,  of  American  Indians  without 
a  beard,  and  of  Sirens,  Mermaids,  and  the  like.  In  the 
Natural  History  of  Insects,  too,  marvelous  stories  are  in- 
troduced by  travelers  in  foreign  countries,  who  have  im- 
plicitly relied  upon  the  reports  of  the  ignorant  natives,  and 
whose  stories,  however  absurd,  have  gained  ci'edence.  This 
is  the  case  with  regard  to  the  Lantern-fly,  which  is  a  native 
of  South  America,  but  which  from  its  bodily  construction 
belongs  to  the  order  we  are  now  describing.  This  insect 
is  provided  with  a  comparatively  large  bladder,  which  is 
placed  before  its  head,  and  from  which,  it  is  said,  comes  a 
strong  light,  as  bright  as  that  of  a  candle.  This  lightning 
story  originated  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  from 
the  work  of  the  celebrated  Madame  Merian,  who  lived  sev- 
eral years  in  Surinam,  and  who  says  that  one  day  the  In- 
dians brought  her  a  large  number  of  living  Lantern-flies, 
which  she  put  into  a  box,  but  they  made  so  much  noise 

D 


74  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

during  the  night  that  she  rose  from  her  bed  and  opened 
the  box,  which  however  she  immediately  dropped  on  the 
ground,  so  frightened  was  she  at  the  multitude  of  fiery- 
flames  issuing  from  it. 

Now  modern  naturalists,  such  as  Prince  Max  of  Neu- 
wied,  Prince  Paul  of  Wiirtemberg,  Count  HofFmansegg, 
Mr.  Lacordaire,  and  several  others  who  have  traveled  in 
those  countries,  and  have  collected  a  number  of  them  alive, 
state  that  none  of  the  specimens  they  have  ever  seen  alive 
exhibited  the  least  appearance  or  trace  of  luminosity.  And 
indeed  of  what  use  could  such  a  lantern  be,  placed  directly 
before  the  eyes  of  the  insect  ?  If  we  were  obliged  to  carry 
a  torch-light  upon  our  foreheads  directly  in  front  of  our 
eyes,  we  should  be  so  dazzled  that  we  could  see  nothing. 
This  insect  is  three  inches  long,  its  head  being  of  itself  only 
a  few  lines  in  length,  but,  with  the  lantern,  as  long  as  its 
abdomen.  It  still  retains  its  name  of  Lantern-fly,  but  its 
supposed  light  has  long  since  been  considered  by  naturalists 
as  an  ignorant  superstition,  or,  at  best,  as  a  fact  unsubstan- 
tiated by  any  of  the  species  existing  at  the  present  day. 

With  regard  to  the  marvelous  interpolations  in  Natural 
Science,  I  can  not  forbear  quoting  from  the  work  of  the 
late  Thomas  Say  the  following  examples :  "  We  are  told 
that  there  was  a  time  when  a  piece  of  wood  was  transform- 
ed into  a  serpent ;  and  even  in  the  present  age  of  knowl- 
edge, a  hair  fallen  from  the  mane  or  tail  of  a  horse  into  a 
stream  of  water  is  believed  by  many  to  become  animated 
into  a  distinct  being ;  dead  leaves  shed  by  the  parent  tree 
are  said  to  change  gradually  into  animals  of  singular  shape, 
and  to  have  changed  their  place  of  abode  under  the  eye  of 
the  historian  who  related  the  wonderful  tale;  dead  sticks 
were  also  said  to  sprout  legs,  to  move  from  place  to  place, 
and  perform  all  the  functions  of  a  living  body.  These,  and 
a  thousand  other  equally  ridiculous  stories,  were,  at  one  pe- 
riod or  another,  more  or  less  generally  admitted  as  indis- 


ORDER    11. BUGS.  75 

putable  truths,  and  to  contradict  them  would  only  be  to  ex- 
pose one's  self  to  the  imputation  of  ignorance  or  criminal 
faithlessness.  And  although  at  present  the  possibility  of 
making  a  living  serpent  out  of  wood,  and  the  story  of  ani- 
mated leaves  and  sticks  would  be  despised  as  absurd,  yet 
many  are  to  be  found,  both  in  Europe  and  America,  who 
firmly  believe  in  the  animation  of  a  horse-hair.  But  the 
most  obvious  errors  have  often  a  shadow  of  truth  whereon 
to  rest,  or  palliate,  if  not  excuse  them  by  the  plea  of  igno- 
rance or  mistake.  The  historian  of  the  walking-leaf  may 
have  been  deceived  by  the  Mantis  siccifolium  of  Linnaeus 
(the  Soothsayer),  the  wings  of  which  bear  some  resem- 
blance to  a  leaf.  The  Gordius  (a  worm)  resembles  a  horse- 
hair, and  no  doubt  gave  rise  to  the  story  of  the  metamor- 
phosis above  mentioned ;  and  the  account  of  the  walking- 
sticks  may  have  very  honestly  originated  from  the  singular 
appearance  and  form  of  the  insect  which  bears  this  name." 

I  have  above  mentioned  the  name  of  Madame  Merian  as 
originally  circulating  the  story  of  the  Lantern-fly,  and  as 
her  name  is  somewhat  celebrated  in  the  annals  of  Natural 
History,  a  more  extended  mention  may  not  be  unacceptable 
to  my  readers. 

Madame  Maria  Sibilla  Merian  was  the  daughter  of 
Mathew  Merian,  a  distinguished  French  artist.  She  was 
born  in  1647,  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  and  early  in  life 
devoted  herself  to  drawing  and  painting,  particularly  plants 
and  insects.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  she  was  married  to  a 
painter  of  Nuremberg,  named  John  Andrew  Graf  This 
marriage  did  not  prove  a  fortunate  one ;  and  a  few  years 
after  it  took  place  Grafs  affairs  became  so  much  involved, 
and  his  conduct  in  other  respects  so  censurable,  that  he  was 
obliged  for  a  time  to  leave  the  country.  In  consequence 
of  this  separation,  Madame  Merian  never  assumed  her  hus- 
band's name  in  any  of  her  publications,  but  became  known 
to  the  public  by  her  maiden  appellation. 


76  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

After  her  separation  from  her  husband  she  for  a  long 
time  abandoned  all  kinds  of  company,  and  devoted  herself 
exclusively  to  the  painting  of  insects,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
represent  them  with  sufficient  accuracy  for  the  purposes  of 
Natural  History.  The  result  of  her  labors  in  this  depart- 
ment appeared  in  1G79,  in  three  volumes,  published  at  Nu- 
remberg, the  plates  being  engraved  by  herself. 

The  difficulty  of  preserving  Caterpillars  and  other  larvas 
is  sufficient  to  account  for  the  small  number  to  be  found  in 
cabinets,  even  at  the  present  day ;  and  the  most  obvious 
and  satisfactory  method  of  making  up  this  deficiency  is  by 
colored  drawings  taken  from  living  specimens.  The  desire 
of  supplying  this  important  desideratum,  in  regard  to  some 
of  the  more  remarkable  insects  of  America,  as  well  as  of 
determining  the  nature  of  their  metamorphosis  and  kind  of 
food,  had  more  influence  in  leading  Madame  Merian  to  visit 
this  country  than  her  wish  to  delineate  the  perfect  insects, 
many  of  which  were  already  known  in  Europe  from  the 
preserved  specimens. 

She  accordingly  set  sail  for  America  in  the  year  1699, 
accompanied  by  one  of  her  daughters.  The  place  of  her 
destination  was  Dutch  Guiana,  often  called  Surinam,  from 
a  river  of  that  name,  on  which  the  capital,  Paramaribo,  is 
situated,  and  lying  between  the  fourth  and  sixth  degrees  of 
north  latitude.  In  this  fruitful  region  her  ardent  curiosity 
found  ample  means  of  gratification,  and  she  remained  near- 
ly two  years  diligently  employed  in  collecting  and  painting 
insects.  She  returned  to  Europe,  and  gave  those  splendid 
paintings  to  the  public  in  1705,  in  a  work  entitled  "  Meta- 
morj)1iosis  Insectorum  Surinamenisum,  etc.,  the  text  drawn  up 
by  Gaspar  Commelin,  from  the  manuscripts  of  the  author." 

This  heroic  and  industrious  female  naturalist,  who  has 
contributed  so  much  to  the  improvement  and  embellishment 
of  the  Natural  History  of  Insects,  died  in  the  year  1717,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  seventy  years. 


ORDER    II.— BUGS.  .      77 

The  Louse  (Pediculus). 

Among  the  Ilemipterous  Insects,  which  are  distinguished 
from  the  other  orders  by  their  suctorial  organs,  as  well  as 
by  the  fact  that  they  do  not  undergo  a  perfect  metamor- 
phosis, the  Bugs,  properly  so  called,  form  a  very  consider- 
able number  of  different  species,  some  of  which,  particular- 
ly those  of  the  tropics,  are  ornamented  with  the  most  beau- 
tiful colors.  They  live  upon  animated  beings,  both  on  land 
and  in  the  water ;  also  in  forests,  gardens,  and  meadows ; 
and  are,  according  to  their  food,  either  carnivorous  or  herb- 
ivorous. 

I  trust  I  shall  be  pardoned  for  introducing  to  the  notice 
of  my  readers  a  very  disgusting  Insect,  which  seeriis  to 
have  been  created  for  the  purpose  of  punishing  inattention 
to  personal  cleanliness. 

Certain  parasites  whose  destiny  it  is  to  dwell  upon  the 
human  body,  and  which  we  call  lice,  have  been  placed  by 
LinnjBus  and  his  followei'S  among  the  wingless  {apterous) 
insects ;  but  if  we  consider  that  they,  like  the  Hemipterous 
Insects,  are  provided  with  a  suctorial  organ,  also  with  air- 
holes for  breathing,  and  do  not  undergo  a  pei'fect  metamor- 
phosis, we  are  forced  to  place  them,  like  the  wingless  bed- 
bugs, in  this  order.  The  other  parasites,  which  live  upon 
beasts,  birds,  fishes,  and  insects,  and  which  are  also  called 
by  the  people  lice,  belong  to  different  other  orders. 

Many  years  ago,  when  people  paid  very  little  attention 
to  personal  cleanliness,  it  was  generally  believed  to  be  a 
sign  of  good  health  to  be  infected  with  lice,  by  whom  it 
was  thought  the  impure  juices  of  the  body  were  extracted. 
Parents  were,  on  that  account,  glad  to  see  the  heads  of  their 
children  covered  with  sores,  which  were  thickly  populated 
with  this  vermin.  But  when  they  became  better  instruct- 
ed, and  began  to  keep  their  children  clean,  these  insects 
ceased  to  be  fashionable.     For  this  purpose  it  is  probable 


78  NORTH   AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

that  hair-powder,  pomatum,  and  hair-oil  were  chiefly  in- 
vented, and  generally  used,  because  every  kind  of  grease 
destroys  these  insects,  by  stopping  up  their  air-holes  or 
breathing  organs,  and  they  immediately  fall  into  convul- 
sions and  die  —  an  experiment  that  may  be  repeated  at 
pleasure  on  caterpillars. 

These  disgusting  creatures  make  their  abode  principally 
upon  the  heads  of  human  beings,  as  may  be  seen,  for  in- 
stance, in  the  haunts  of  the  filthy  poor  every  where,  or  the 
poor,  oppressed  Jews  and  peasants  of  Poland,  or  the  down- 
trodden and  degraded  countrymen  of  Italy,  and  the  innu- 
merable host  of  beggars  with  which  all  her  churches 
swarm. 

According  to  the  observations  made  in  the  year  1687  by 
the  celebrated  Dutch  philosophei-,  Leuwenhoeck,  the  female 
Louse,  in  the  course  of  six  days,  lays  fifty  white  eggs,  which 
are  called  Nits,  and  from  Avhich,  after  six  days  more,  pro- 
ceed the  young  ones,  which  are  perfected  in  eighteen  days. 
Jn  this  manner  such  a  female  may  have  the  satisfaction  of 
being  grandmother  to  a  progeny  of  five  thousand  individuals 
around  her  in  the  short  space  of  eight  weeks.  This  species 
is  called  the  Head-louse  {Pediculm  cajjitis). 

Another  species,  also  a  nuisance  to  the  human  family,  is 
the  Body-louse  {Pediculus  vestimentorum),  whose  favorite 
dwelling  is  in  the  folds  of  the  shirt-collar,  and  which  prob- 
ably produces  that  generally  incurable  disease  called  phthi- 
riasis.  It  is  humbling  to  human  pride  and  the  high  con- 
ceit of  mortal  man  to  think  that  the  poor  and  the  rich,  the 
ignorant  and  the  wise,  princes,  kings,  and  emperors,  have 
been  and  are  alike  subject  to  this  misfortune.  Examples 
are  not  wanting :  the  Dictator  Sylla,  the  two  Herpds  of 
Judea,  the  Koman  Emperor  Maximian,  and  the  mighty 
Philip  II.,  King  of  Spain,  and  many  others,  have  been  car- 
ried off  by  this  disgusting,  incurable  malady,  in  which  the 
whole  human  body  becomes  covered  with  sores,  and  is  lit- 


ORDER    II. BUGS.  79 

erally  eaten  up  alive  by  these  insects.     See  "  Ifaladies  de  la 
Peau,  par  Alibert,  1806." 

The  Bed-hug  (Cimex  lectularius). 

Bed-bugs  are,  unfortunately,  every  where  well  known. 
They  are  found  throughout  the  world,  from  the  seventieth 
degree  north  latitude  to  the  seventieth  degree  of  south  lati- 
tude, in  both  hemispheres,  and  inhabit  principally  the 
houses  of  populous  cities.  The  walls  of  hen-houses  are 
also  sometimes  entirely  covered  with  them,  and,  what  is 
very  singular,  the  fowls  themselves  are  never  attacked  by 
them ;  but  as  they  people  rapidly  in  warm  fowl-manuro,  it 
is  conjectured  that  they  feed  on  them.  Hen-houses  near  a 
dwelling-house  are  on  this  account  dangerous. 

That  Bed-bugs  suck  the  blood  of  man  is  very  well 
known,  but  it  is  not  so  certain  that  blood  is  their  only 
nourishment.  I  found  them  in  abundance  in  the  pine 
woods  of  Finland,  near  Wiborg,  in  Europe,  as  well  as  in 
the  pine  woods  of  North  America,  and  in  newly-construct- 
ed frame  houses.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  they  feed 
on  the  sap  of  pine  wood. 

In  England  it  is  believed  that  this  vermin  is  a  native  of 
North  America,  and  was  accidentally  brought  over  to  Eu- 
rope in  the  pine  timber.  But  this  can  hardly  be  the  case, 
as  Aristotle,  who  lived  three  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
mentions  this  insect  in  his  ^^  Historia  Anhnalium,''''  and  so 
does  Pliny,  some  centuries  later,  in  his  Natural  History. 
They  are  undoubtedly  natives  of  a  warm  country,  for  they 
like  a  high  temperature,  and  are  benumbed  in  winter,  al- 
though experiments  have  been  made  in  which  an  exposure 
to  a  temperature  of  five  degrees  below  0  of  Fahrenheit  did 
them  no  harm.  Like  reptiles,  they  can  also  live  many 
years  without  food,  as  the  German  naturalist  Goeze  has 
proved,  who  kept  them  alive  six  years  without  any  nour- 
ishment. 


> 


80  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Kotzebue,  then  colonel  in  the  general  staff  of  the  Russo- 
Caucasian  Army  in  Tiflis,  assured  me,  when  I  was  there 
(1825),  that  he  has  seen  several  persons,  when  traveling  in 
Persia,  victims  of  the  venomous  bite  of  the  Pei'sian  Bug. 

This  insect,  though  it  is  neither  a  native  of  North  Amer- 
ica, nor  does  it  belong  to  the  Hemipterous  Order,  is  too  no- 
torious to  pass  over  in  silence. 

The  Persian  Bug  {Agras  Persicus)  is  similar  to  a  Bed- 
bug in  color  and  form,  but  a  little  larger,  and  provided  with 
jaws.  It  has  long  been  known  as  the  venomous  bug  of 
Miana  in  Persia,  which  city  lies  south  from  Tauris.  That 
same  Mr.  Kotzebue,  the  son  of  the  celebrated  unfortunate 
German  poet,  August  Kotzebue,  Russian  Counselor  of 
State,  who  was  assassinated  1818,  in  Manheim,  by  the  stu- 
dent Sand,  went  as  attache  to  the  Russian  Embassy  of  Gen- 
eral Yermoloff  to  Teheran,  and  published  afterward  in  Ger- 
many his  "  Travels  thi'ough  Persia,"  in  which  he  says : 
"  The  city  of  Miana,  with  the  suri'ounding  country,  is  re- 
nowned on  account  of  its  venomous  bugs.  They  live  in  the 
walls  of  old  buildings,  and  the  older  the  masonry  the  more 
abundant  and  venomous  they  are.  Several  villages  are  en- 
tirely deserted,  because  their  inhabitants  have  been  driven 
out  by  those  venomous  bugs." 

Those  bitten  by  them  become  crazy,  mad,  and  die  with 
terrible  convulsions. 

With  regard  to  the  general  protection  of  animals  in  some 
parts  of  Hindostan,  we  find  a  very  curious  article  in 
"  Forbes's  Oriental  Memoirs,"  who  says :  "  The  Banian 
hospital  at  Surat  is  a  most  remarkable  institution.  At  my 
visit  the  hospital  contained  horses,  mules,  oxen,  sheep,  goats, 
monkeys,  poultry,  pigeons,  and  a  variety  of  birds.  The  most 
extraordinary  ward  was  that  appropriated  to  rats  and  mice, 
hugs,  and  other  noxious  vermin.  The  overseers  of  the  hos- 
pital frequently  hire  beggars  from  the  streets,  for  a  stipu- 
lated sum,  to  pass  a  night  among  the  Jleas,  lice,  and  hugs,  on 


ORDER    II. BUGS.  81 

the  express  condition  of  suffering  them  to  enjoy  their  feast 
without  molestation." 

O  stulta  sanctitas,  O  sancta  stultitia ! 

The  Squash-hug  (Coreus  tristis). 

This  insect^  which  conceals  itself  during  the  winter  in 
the  crevices  of  houses,  walls,  and  the  bark 

'  '  Figure  20. 

of  trees,  makes  its  appearance  in  the  open 
air  as  soon  as  warm  weather  commences, 
and  takes  up  its  abode,  for  the  most  part, 
upon  or  under  the  leaves  of  squashes, 
pumpkins,  and  other  plants  of  the  Gourd 
tribe.  It  is  also  often  seen  upon  the  po- 
tato vine  and  other  herbaceous  plants,  and 

.  The  Squash-bug. 

toward  the  middle  of  summer  it  fastens  its 
eggs,  Avith  a  gummy  substance,  upon  the  under  sides  of  the 
leaves  of  these  plants.  These  eggs  are  soon  hatched,  and 
the  young,  in  company  with  the  old  ones,  proceed  to  suck 
with  their  reflected  snout  the  sap  of  those  leaves  and  stems, 
often  causing  the  whole  vine  to  wither  and  perish. 

The  young  ones,  which  are  quite  as  voracious  as  their 
parents,  are  furnished  with  wings  in  the  autumn,  and  as 
soon  as  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  and  the  want  of 
food  obliges  them  to  do  so,  they  fly  away  to  take  possession 
of  their  winter-quarters,  in  the  holes  of  walls,  or  the  crev- 
ices of  houses  and  the  bark  of  trees. 

These  insects  emit  an  odor,  when  touched  or  mashed, 
very  similar  to  that  of  the  Bed-bug,  and  the  wound  they 
inflict  with  their  horny  snout  is  fully  as  inflamed  and 
painful. 

There  is  no  better  remedy  to  prevent  the  injuries  done 
by  these  insects  than  to  examine  the  squash  and  pumpkin 
vines  every  day  and  destroy  them ;  for,  to  use  the  argu- 
ment adduced  in  favor  of  capital  punishment,  if  they  are 

D  2 


82  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

killed  they  are  forever  out  of  the  way.  I  would  suggest 
that  for  boys  in  the  country  this  would  afford  a  fit  and 
amusing  occupation  when  out  of  school,  thereby  keeping 
themselves  and  the  bugs  from  doing  mischief 

This  species  of  bugs,  as  well  as  all  kindred  ones,  inflict 
often  painful  wounds,  which  are  sometimes  more  venomous 
than  the  sting  of  a  scorpion,  which  is  often  experienced  in 
tropical  countries,  and  produce  tumors  as  big  as  the  egg  of 
a  pigeon,  for  several  days.  But  it  is  much  more  singular 
that  there  is  found  in  the  West  Indies  a  bug  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Wheel-bug  (Eeduvius  serratus),  which,  like  the 
Electric  Eel  and  the  Torpedo,  communicates  to  the  person 
whose  flesh  it  touches  an  electric  shock,  which  comes  out 
from  its  legs. 

Tree-hoppers  (Membracis). 

The  Tree-hoppers  are  mostly  of  a  green  color,  and 
small  size :    they  have  four  wings,  and  a  very 

Figure  21.  >  J  .      »  '  -^ 

large  thorax  or  chest ;  they  possess  the  power  of 
leaping  a  distance  of  five  or  six  feet,  which  is 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  times  their  length. 
They  generally  remain  motionless  for  hours  upon 
The  Tree-   i]^q  jeaf  of  a  bush  or  tree,  imbibing  the  sap  of 

hopper.  '  °  '■ 

the  plant ;  but  at  the  approach  of  any  one  they 
suddenly  leap  with  great  ease  into  the  air,  at  the  same  time 
spreading  out  their  wings,  and  fly  to  some  other  abode. 

They  feed  mostly  on  the  leaves  of  the  oak,  the  locust, 
and  several  other  trees.  But  their  injury  is  of  no  great 
importance.  The  principal  species  of  Tree-hoppers  are 
the 

^  Membracis  Ampelopsidis,  on  the  Ampelopsis  vine ; 
O         "  bimaculata,  "      locust-tree ; 

C      "         univittata,  "     oak-tree,  etc. 


ORDER    II. BUGS.  83 

Plant-lice  (Aphis). 

Like  the  preceding  insects,  the  Phint-lice  belong  to  the 
order  of  Bugs  Avhich  constitute  the  Ilemipterous  Insects. 
They  have  small  round  bodies,  of  a  brown,  black,  yellow, 
or  blue  color.  Some  species  are  provided  with  wings,  some 
others  have  none ;  but  on  the  back  of  all  of  them  may  be 
seen  two  honey-tubes,  or  honey-warts,  from  Avhich  issues  a 
sweet  substance  very  much  liked  by  the  Ants.  For  this 
reason  we  find  even  such  carnivorous  insects  as  the  Ants  on 
friendly  and  intimate  terms  Avith  the  Plant-lice.  In  fact, 
they  are  called  the  milk-cows  of  the  Ants,  because  the  lat- 
ter suck  from  them  the  sweet  juice  of  their  honey-tubes. 
They  are  as  careful  of  them  as  we  of  our  cows,  protect 
them  from  their  enemies,  and,  in  case  of  danger,  even  carry 
them  away  in  their  mouth  very  carefully  to  a  safe  place. 
This  sweet  fluid  of  the  Plant-lice  is  also  often  seen  upon 
the  branches  of  trees  or  shrubs  —  a  glutinous  substance 
known  by  the  name  of  honey-dew,  and  eagerly  sought  by 
Ants.  If,  therefore,  we  see  Ants  running  up  and  down  the 
branches  of  trees  and  shrubs,  we  may  consider  it  a  certain 
indication  of  the  presence  of  Plant-lice. 

There  is  scarcely  a  tree,  or  bush,  or  herb  that  grows  in 
our  gardens  or  fields  that  is  not  infested  with  some  species 
of  Plant-lice ;  and  in  spite  of  their  diminutive  size,  and 
the  disgust  we  naturally  have  for  them,  a  host  of  interest- 
ing associations  are  connected  with  them.  Their  manner 
of  living,  and  of  reproduction  also,  have  attracted  much 
interest.  They  both  deposit  their  eggs  and  bring  forth 
their  young  alive — a  phenomenon  which  does  not  take  place 
in  any  of  the  four-winged  insects.  Their  multiplication  is 
immense,  and,  considering  the  size  of  the  animal,  really  as- 
tonishing ;  for  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  one  single  Plant- 
louse  is  capable  of  producing  ninety  young  ones,  from  which 
spring  myriads  more.     From  the  month  of  April  to  No- 


84  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

vember  nearly  twenty  generations  are  born ;  and  if  their 
number  were  not  checked  by  their  numerous  enemies,  as 
well  as  by  wet,  damp  weather  and  cold  winters,  all  of  our 
vegetable  productions  would  not  suffice  to  nourish  them. 

The  principal  species  of  this  country,  which  may  be  seen 
and  examined  every  where,  are : 

The  Rose-louse  {Aphis  rosce),  which  is  green. 

The  PiG-NDT  LOUSE  (Aphis  cari/oe),  which  is  the  largest,  viz.,  one 

quarter  of  an»inch  long,  and  covered  with 

a  bluish  woolly  substance. 
The  Cabbage-louse  (Aphis  hrassicoc),  covered  with  a  white  mealj^ 

substance. 
The  Willow-louse  (Aphis  salicis),  which  is  black. 

Shield-lice  (Coccus). 

The  Shield-louse,  also  called  Bark-louse,  or  Scale  In- 
sect, is  found  upon  the  branches  and  leaves  of  trees  and 
bushes,  upon  which  it  sits  motionless,  as  if  it  were  glued 
on,  looking  more  like  a  wart  than  a  living  creature.  This, 
however,  is  the  case  only  with  the  female,  who  inserts  her 
snout  into  the  branch  upon  which  she  sits,  and  remains 
there  imbibing  the  sap  of  the  plant.  In  this  condition  also 
she  deposits  her  eggs,  and  after  having  done  so  she  dies 
upon  the  .same  spot,  leaving  her. dead  and  dried  body  a 
cover  and  shelter  to  her  young  ones.  The  males  have  no 
snout,  and  walk  about  the  branches  at  their  pleasure. 

The  body  of  the  Shield-louse  is  oval,  and  the  head,  tho- 
rax, and  abdomen  run  into  one  another  so  imperceptibly, 
that  the  whole  appearance  of  the  animal  is  like  that  of  a 
shield  or  buckler.     Hence  its  name. 

I  have  before  remarked,  and  I  may  often  have  occasion 
to  repeat  the  remark,  that  to  the  lover  of  Nature  nothing, 
even  the  most  vile  and  insignificant  object  that  lives,  is 
without  some  points  of  interest — each  has  something  curi- 
ous in  its  construction  or  mode  of  life,  or  manner  of  repro- 


ORDER    II. BUGS.  85 

duction,  or  in  its  uses — ay,  and  more  so  in  the  injuries  it 
is  capable  of  doing !  It  sometimes  seems  as  if  the  meanest 
and  most  trivial  of  earth's  creatures  were  created  for  the 
express  purpose  of  working  out  the  vastest  amount  of  evil ! 
as  if  there  was  nothing  else  to  distinguish  them  or  make 
them  deserving  of  notice !  And  when  Godlike  Man,  the 
highest  link  in  the  animal  creation,  the  last  step  between 
the  creature  and  the  Creator,  when  such  as  he  attempts  to 
procure  renown  by  the  vast  amount  of  injury  he  can  inflict ; 
when,  undistinguished  from  his  fellows  save  by  the  halo  of 
destruction  that  surrounds  him,  he  mounts  the  throne  of 
human  glory  by  "  making  countless  millions  mourn" — and 
not  a  few  have  clothed  themselves  with  such  unenviable 
immortality ! — why  should  it  not  be  so  with  the  meanest 
insects  ?  Independent  of  its  curious  construction,  why 
should  not  the  subtle  manner  in  which  it  works  a  vast 
amount  of  injury  prevent  even  the  vile  Shield-louse  from  be- 
ing passed  by  unnoticed  among  those  of  its  order  ?  Let  the 
vain  man  who  would  imitate  it  think  of  the  base  level  to 
which  he  must  stoop,  and  from  this  insignificant  animal 
learn  one  of  the  lessons  Nature  is  every  where  teaching ! 

Probably  hundreds  have  passed  through  their  orchards, 
day  after  day,  without  noticing  this  insect,  although  myri- 
ads have  been  in  sight.  Many  well-educated  farmers  have 
seen  their  peach-trees  covered  with  brownish  warts,  and 
have  suffered  them  to  wither  and  die,  without  dreaming  that 
these  warts  were  live  animals,  sucking  the  sap,  the  life- 
blood  of  the  tree ;  and  yet  these  motionless  excrescences 
have  laid  waste  whole  orchards,  have  devastated  the  fairest 
of  bushes  and  the  most  fruitful  of  trees,  and  in  place  of  fra- 
grance and  verdure  have  left  naught  but  desolation  and  de- 
cay. They  are  essentially  noxious  insects,  which,  if  unmo- 
lested, multiply  immensely,  and  hence  should  be  carefully 
sought  upon  the  branches  of  our  trees,  and,  as  often  as  they 
make  their  appearance,  destroyed  at  the  point  of  the  knife. 


86  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Their  color  very  nearly  resembles  that  of  the  branches  upon 
which  they  alight,  usually  a  brown  or  black,  but  sometimes 
a  reddish  or  violet,  and  hence  they  scarcely  ever  attract  at- 
tention unless  looked  for.  The  branches  of  peach-trees  are 
their  particular  resort,  and  may  often  be  seen  covered  with 
them,  making  the  branches  look  rough  and  knotty,  and  the 
leaves  and  fruit  dirty  and  black  from  the  rain  washing  upon 
them  from  the  bodies  of  these  filthy  Shield-lice. 

The  Cochineal  (Coccus  cacti). 

My  readers,  I  presume,  will  find  it  an  agreeable  transi- 
tion to  pass  from  an  insect  whose  only  distinguishing  qual- 
ity seems  to  be  its  noxiousness,  to  one  justly  celebrated  for 
its  utility — to  one  abounding  in  interest  and  curiosity — to 
one  to  which  they  are  indebted  for  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
colors  which  adorn  their  persons  and  "  beautify  the  human 
form  divine." 

It  is  a  wonderful  thing  to  look  abroad  over  the  face  of 
Nature,  and  see  how  every  mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal 
production  is  constituted  so  as  to  minister  in  some  way  to 
the  wants  of  man — to  see  the  vegetable  world  silently  en- 
gaged in  extracting  mineral  matters  from  the  soil,  and  stor- 
ing them  up  for  man,  and  man,  impelled  by  instinct,  se- 
lecting these  as  his  own  proper  food — to  behold  not  only 
his  food  and  drink  flowing  constantly  to  him  through  the 
ever-revolving  cycle  of  three  kingdoms,  but  even  his  most 
valued  ornaments  presented  through  the  same  natural  chan- 
nel !  It  is  more  than  wonderful,  it  is  sublime,  to  view 
atom  after  atom  of  the  whole  creation  unceasingly  changing 
place,  that  man,  the  lord  of  creation,  may  be  abundantly 
supplied  with  all  his  comforts  and  his  luxuries ;  to  see  the 
lilies  of  the  field,  and  the  insects  of  the  earth  and  air,  living 
and  dying  for  man,  yielding  up  their  lives  for  man's  suste- 
nance and  adornment.  True,  "  the  lilies  of  the  field  take 
no  thought  for  the  morrow,"  but  the  unseen  finger  that 


ORDER    II. BUGS.  87 

opens  their  petals  to  the  day  points  them  out  as  the  appro- 
priate food  to  some  of  those  animals  whose  life  or  death 
ministers  to  man !  The  blooming  Cactus  not  only  charms 
the  eye  of  man,  and  makes  the  arid  desert  blossom  as  the 
rose,  but  it  furnishes  food  for  an  insect  that  lives  upon  it, 
and  grows  and  dies  to  clothe  man  with  the  same  resplen- 
dent dye. 

This  insect  is  the  Cochineal,  a  species  of  Shield-louse, 
also  called  Scale  Insect,  of  the  genus  Coccus,  and  of  the 
order  TIemxptera. 

This  little  insect  has  a  curious  history.  It  was  used 
for  dyeing  the  most  brilliant  and  beautiful  red  and  purple 
colors,  and  was  considered  a  valuable  article  of  commerce, 
from  which  much  money  was  made,  long  before  it  was 
known  what  the  substance  was  composed  of. 

The  French  Naturalist,  Plumier,  in  1692  excited  the 
ridicule  of  his  nation,  and  was  considered  a  fool  because  he 
pronounced  the  Cochineal  to  be  an  insect.  But  in  1714 
the  French  Philosopher,  GeofFi-oy,  proved  the  opinion  of 
Plumier  to  be  correct.  By  moistening  these  supposed 
seeds  in  vinegar  Geofiroy  was  able  to  detect  the  ringlets 
of  its  body  as  well  as  its  feet,  and  accordingly  pronounced 
unhesitatingly  the  Cochineal  to  be  an  insect.  Ruusscher, 
in  Holland,  held  the  same  opinion,  and  was  publicly  as- 
sailed for  it,  on  account  of  which  he  caused  the  Cochineal 
cultivators  to  be  summoned  before  the  court  of  Antiguera, 
in  the  valley  of  Oaxaca,  in  Mexico,  there  to  be  examined 
with  regard  to  the  origin  and  nature  of  these  creatures. 
The  examination  proved  Ruusscher's  opinion  correct,  and 
the  Cochineal  henceforth  was  considered  an  insect.  This 
was  probably  the  first  instance  in  which  an  animal  was  re- 
stored to  its  natural  rights  by  the  decision  of  a  Judicial 
Court.* 

The  Cochineal  is  a  natural  production  of  North  and 
*  See  Naturlyke  Historie  von  de  Cochenille.     Amsterdam,  1729. 


OO  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Central  America,  and  is  found  principally  in  Texas,  Mexi- 
co, and  Lower  California.  It  looks  like  irregular  grains, 
scarcely  as  large  as  a  pea,  which  are  convex  on  one  side 
and  concave  on  the  other,  and  of  a  reddish,  slatish-white 
color.  As  has  been  mentioned,  it  is  a  species  of  Shield- 
louse,  but  was  always  supposed  to  be  a  grain  growing  upon 
the  plants  upon  which  it  is  found.  It  is  principally  found 
upon  the  Prickly-pear  {Cactus  cochenilifer)  and  other  species 
of  Cactus. 

There  are  two  sorts  of  Cochineal  which  are  used  in  com- 
merce; viz.,  the  domestic,  which  is  cultivated  upon  the 
Prickly-pear,  planted  in  large  quantities  expressly  as  food 
for  this  insect,  and  the  wild,  which  is  obtained  from  the 
spontaneously-growing  Cactus. 

Mexico  and  Central  America  are  the  only  countries  in 
which  the  Cochineal  are  raised  expressly  for  commerce, 
and  this  principally  in  the  provinces  of  Tlascala,  Oaxaca, 
Guatimala,  and  Honduras,  from  which  places  alone,  ac- 
cording to  the  account  of  Humboldt,  there  are  every  year 
exports  of  this  article  amounting  to  two  and  a  half  mill- 
ions of  dollars.  An  enormous  sum,  indeed,  to  be  annually 
expended  for  insect  cadavers. 

There  are,  for  this  branch  of  industry  alone,  plantations 
gDntaining  more  than  fifty  thousand  Cactus  plants,  cultiva- 
ted for  no  other  purpose  than  to  serve  as  food  for  these  val- 
uable little  insects.  The  collection  and  preparation  of  this 
article  of  commerce  most  generally  falls  to  the  lot  of  the 
Indian  woman. 

It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  the  dried  Cochineal 
never  perishes,  and  may  be  kept  in  store-houses  perfectly 
preserved  for  hundreds  of  years — a  fact  which  clearly  in- 
dicates the  use  which  Nature  intended  should  be  made 
of  it. 

The  best  treatise  on  the  Cochineal,  and  one  which  con- 
tains every  thing  that  is  known  or  can  be  said  of  it,  is  that 


ORDER    II. BUGS.  89 

written  by  Thieiy  de  Meoonville :  "  Traite  de  la  culture 
du  Nopal,  et  de  I'cducation  de  la  Cochenille.  Paris, 
1787  :"  to  which  I  refer  the  reader. 

The  Cochineal  insect  is  often  found  in  our  hot-houses  on 
the  Prickly-pear  and  other  species  of  Cactus,  and  it  might 
easily  be  raised  in  many  parts  of  our  country  for  amuse- 
ment or  experiment;  but,  owing  to  the  high  price  of  manual 
labor,  we  could  not  at  present,  and  probably  never,  com- 
pete with  Mexico  in  cultivating  it  as  an  article  of  com- 
merce. 

The  Spaniards  have  imported  this  insect  into  Spain,  and 
the  French  into  Algiers ;  but  Avith  what  success  they  will 
cultivate  it  is  as  yet  problematical,  as  the  former  are  not 
sufficiently  encouraged  by  their  rulers,  and  the  latter  prefer 
the  sight  and  sound  of  swords,  guns,  and  bayonets  to  the 
more  pleasant  and  profitable  pursuits  of  Agriculture. 

Another  species  of  Shield-louse,  although  not  a  native 
of  North  America,  deserves  a  passing  notice  on  account  of 
its  great  utility  in  the  production  of  a  most  important  ma- 
terial for  manufacture  and  commerce.  This  is  the  Coccus 
Lacca,  a  native  of  Hindostan.  This  Scale  Insect  is  found 
upon  the  branches  of  Banyan-trees  {Ficiis  religiosd),  and  sev- 
eral other  trees  and  shrubs,  where  it  secretes  from  its  body 
a  hard,  gummy  substance,  adhering  to  the  branches  like  a 
crust,  and  well  known  in  commerce  by  the  name  of  shellac.  -<^ 
This  substance  is  a  most  invaluable  material  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  varnishes,  sealing-wax,  beads,  arm-bracelets, 
necklaces,  water-proof  hats',  etc.,  and  is  extensively  used  in 
dyeing.  Mixed  with  very  fine  sand  it  forms  grindstones, 
and  added  to  lamp  or  ivory  black,  being  first  dissolved  in 
water  and  a  little  borax,  it  composes  an  ink  of  a  very  good 
quality,  and,  when  dried,  not  easily  acted  upon  by  dampness 
or  moisture.  Notwithstanding  the  vast  amount  of  this  sub- 
stance that  is  constantly  consumed  in  manufactures  of  va- 
rious kinds  throughout  the  world,  still  this  little  insect  pro- 


90  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

duces  it  so  fast  and  so  abundantly,  that,  were  the  consump- 
tion of  shellac  ten  times  greater  than  it  is,  it  could  readily 
be  supplied. 

There  are  many  other  species  of  Shield-lice  found  in  the 
old  countries,  which  have  from  time  immemorial  furnished 
a  substance  used  for  dyeing  red,  and  which  are  still  used 
for  that  purpose.  Hence  their  name  among  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  was  "  Coccus,"  by  the  Arabs  called  "  Kermes," 
and  by  the  Persians  "  Alkermes." 

Professor  Ehrenberg,  of  Berlin,  to*  whom  the  science  is 
so  much  indebted  for  his  laborious  microscopic  investiga- 
tions of  the  Animalcules,  found  large  Tamarisk- trees  (Tam- 
arix  mannifera,  Ehrenb.)  upon  Mount  Sinai,  the  young 
shoots  of  which  were  covered  with  a  species  of  Shield-louse, 
which  he  called  Coccus  manniferus. 

These  insects,  by  puncturing  the  branches  with  their  pro- 
boscis, cause  them  to  discharge  a  large  quantity  of  gummy 
secretion,  which  very  soon  hardens  and  drops  from  the  tree, 
when  it  is  easily  collected  by  the  natives,  who  believe  it  to 
bfi  the  real  manna  of  the  Israelites. 

Our  currant  bushes,  young  apple,  and  peach  trees,  often 
suffer  from  the  ravages  of  different  species  of  bark -lice,  and 
not  unfrequcntly  are  destroyed  by  them.  Many  small  birds 
feed  principally  on  these  species  of  Lice,  but,  in  spite  of 
this,  their  multiplication  is  often  so  great  that  we  must 
rely  upon  other  and  artificial  means  to  destroy  them. 

Dr.  Harris,  of  Cambridge,  mentioning  them  in  his  "  Re- 
port on  the  Insects  of  Massachusetts  Injurious  to  Vegeta- 
tion," says:  "The  best  application  for  the  destruction  of  the 
Lice  is  a  wash  made  of  two  parts  of  soft  soap  and  eight  of 
water,  with  which  is  to  be  mixed  lime  enough  to  bring  it 
to  the  consistence  of  thick  whitewash.  This  is  to  be  put 
upon  the  trunks  and  limbs  of  the  trees  with  a  brush,  and 
as  high  as  practicable,  so  as  to  cover  flie  whole  surface, 
and  fill  all  the  cracks  in  the  bark.     The  proper  time  for 


ORDER    II. BUGS.  91 

washing  over  the  trees  is  in  the  early  part  of  June,  Avhen 
the  insects  are  young  and  tender," 

This  may  appear  to  my  enthusiastic  young  friends  like 
advocating  wholesale  murder,  and  they  may  deem  me  to 
have  lost  that  universal  benevolence  and  love  which  the 
study  of  Natural  History  usually  inspires,  when  I  recom- 
mend the  massacre  of  many  millions  of  little  insects,  whose 
only  crime  is  that  they  eat  the  food  that  Nature  has  in- 
stinctively prescribed  for  them.  It  is  true,  all  that  is  posi- 
tively injurious  ought  not  necessarily  to  be  destroyed,  still 
it  is  right  that  of  two  evils  we  should  choose  the  least.  A 
distinguished  modern  reformer  of  Germany  has  recently 
published  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "Murder  and  Liberty,"  in 
which  he  maintains  the  legality  and  moral  right  of  assas- 
sinating all  sovereigns  and  despots  wherever  they  are  to  be 
found  in  the  world.  He  premises  his  argument  upon  the 
fact  that  it  has  been,  and  is  considered  legal  and  right  for 
all  crowned  heads  to  arraign  and  execute  every  patriot  and 
political  reformer,  Avhenever  and  wherever  he  may  be  found: 
ergo,  he  argues,  the  same  legality  and  right  belongs  to  the 
patriot  and  political  reformer  to  kill  all  crowned  and  un- 
crowned despots,  whenever  and  wherever  they  may  be 
caught. 

Now,  if  such  a  doctrine  finds  adherents,  I  am  sure  I  need 
not  fear  to  recommend  the  massacre  of  all  injurious  insects, 
and  upon  the  same  principles  of  logic ;  they  kill  trees  and 
shrubs,  ergo,  we  should  kill  them. 

The  few  insects  here  mentioned  constitute  but  a  small 
part  of  the  numerous  order  Hemiptera,  which,  together  with 
the  preceding,  are  generally  known  under  the  common  name 
of  Bug,  and,  like  those,  are  usually  treated  as  objects  of  dis- 
gust or  of  fear.  They  are  i-eal  natural  bugbears  to  those 
unacquainted  with  their  character  or  history. 

The  general  deficiency  in  the  knowledge  of  Natural  His- 
tory is,  however,  the  greatest  bugbear  to  me,  and  I  can  not 


92  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

but  lament,  seeing  it  in  so  many  otherwise  well-educated 
men  and  women,  in  the  editors  of  some  of  our  distinguished 
journals,  and  in  most  of  the  travelers  who  are  constant- 
ly publishing  accounts  of  their  journeys  in  foreign  lands. 
How  much  more  rich,  amusing,  interesting,  and  instructive 
would  these  reports  be  if  their  writers  could  adorn  their 
topographical  descriptions  and  special  histories  of  foreign 
lands  with  information  concerning  some  curious  beasts, 
birds,  reptiles,  fish,  insects,  or  plants,  which  they  have  ac- 
cidentally met  in  their  journeys. 

Now  the  deplorable  ignorance  that  so  universally  pre- 
vails with  regard  to  Natural  History  arises  not  from  any 
deficiency  of  genius  in  the  American  people,  but  it  arises 
from  the  fact  that  our  Schools,  Colleges,  and  so-called 
Universities,  which  are  the  leaders  and  guides  of  general 
education,  almost  entirely  neglect  this  department  of  Sci- 
ence. Hardly  any  of  our  Institutions  of  Learning,  except 
Cambridge,  have  regular  Professors  of  this  branch,  and  ex- 
cept Princeton,  in  New  Jersey,  very  few,  if  any,  have  Cab- 
inets of  Natural  History,  and  none  have  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  books  treating  upon  this  subject  to  form  a  library. 

I  have  no  intention  or  disposition  to  ridicule  what  is 
really  a  proper  object  of  lamentation ;  but  to  one  accus- 
tomed to  the  magnificent  and  extensive  Cabinets  of  Natural 
History,  which  are  always  considered  an  indispensable  part 
of  the  Universities  of  Europe,  the  Cabinets  or  Museums  of 
our  Colleges,  containing  a  few  pebbles,  the  skin  of  a  rattle- 
snake, the  broken  shoulder-bone  of  a  mastadon,  and  such 
like  articles,  can  hardly  fail  of  exciting  a  smile,  even  though 
it  be  accompanied  with  a  tear  of  pity. 

Some  few  years  ago  the  President  of  one  of  our  Western 
Colleges  showed  me  their  Museum,  which  contained  many 
such  wonderful  articles  as  I  have  mentioned,  and  besides 
these  precious  specimens,  a  pair  of  black  satin  breeches, 
suspended  by  the  waist  and  with  the  legs  extended,  like 


ORDER    II. BUGS.  93 

those  we  sec  hanging  in  front  of  every  tailor's  shop,  and 
near  by,  also  suspended  on  the  wall,  an  old  German  to- 
bacco-pipe made  of  wood,  and  having  a  very  long  stem. 
"When  I  expressed  some  surprise  that  such  paraphernalia 
constituted  a  part  of  their  College  Cabinet,  the  President 
replied,  "  These  breeches  are  the  same  identical  ones  which 

General  M ,  to  whose  widow  I  introduced  you  last 

evening,  wore  when  he  was  introduced  to  the  royal  family 
in  London ;  and  the  tobacco-pipe  is  the  one  I  once  used 
myself,  but  which,  at  the  solicitation  of  my  wife,  I  gave 
up  forever,  although  I  had  previously  been  an  inveterate 
smoker.  These  things  exercise  a  great  moral  influence  over 
the  students,  who  can  see  by  the  first  what  a  man  can  be- 
come, and  by  the  second  what  he  can  do  if  he  only  has  a 
fii-m  resolution." 

A  very  erroneous  idea  prevails  with  the  managers  of  our 
Colleges  in  regard  to  the  expense  of  establishing  a  Cabinet 
of  Natural  History.  A  splendid  Cabinet  may  be  collected 
at  very  little  expense  to  any  institution,  if  they  only  have 
a  competent  Professor  in  this  department.  Enthusiasm  in 
any  thing,  but  particularly  in  matters  of  Science,  is  very 
contagious,  and  the  students  who  attend  the  lectures  of  a 
popular  Professor  of  Natural  History  will  very  soon  be- 
come themselves  enthusiasts  in  this  interesting  department, 
and  in  all  their  excursions  in  vacation,  or  in  the  leisure 
hours  of  each  day,  will  constantly  be  collecting  zoological, 
botanical,  or  mineralogical  specimens  of  all  kinds,  and  in 
great  abundance,  for  the  Cabinet  of  their  Alma  Mater. 
The  very  desire  to  know  what  each  insect,  plant,  or  stone 
is,  and  what  its  use  and  scientific  name,  will  prompt  them 
to  collect  every  thing  with  which  they  meet,  and  bring  it 
to  their  Professor.  In  this  manner  a  great  number  of 
duplicates  will  be  obtained  in  a  very  short  time,  and  these 
may  be  sent  in  exchange  for  other  specimens,  by  the  direct- 
ing Professor,  to  his  correspondents  of  this  and  of  foreign 


94  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

countries.  If  the  College  be  situated  near  or  in  a  sea-port, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  Institutions  of  New  York,  Philadel- 
phia, Baltimore,  Providence,  Boston,  and  many  others,  a 
great  supply  of  the  most  curious  and  interesting  articles 
may  be  obtained  by  the  sea-captains  of  such  places,  who,  if 
solicited,  will  always  be  pleased  and  proud  to  collect  speci- 
mens from  all  quarters  of  the  world,  with  which  to  embel- 
lish the  College  of  their  native  city. 

No  place  in  this  Union  has  so  great  facilities  for  execu- 
ting such  a  plan  as  the  gigantic  city  of  New  York,  and  I 
hope  soon  to  see  her  Institutions  setting  an  example  in  this 
respect  which  will  be  worthy  of  imitation.  The  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  several  years  ago,  expended  near- 
ly half  a  million  of  dollars  for  the  purpose  of  making  its  in- 
habitants acquainted  with  the  natural  productions  of  the 
State.  A  costly  zoological,  botanical,  and  mineralogical 
survey  was  made,  and  illustrated  by  the  publication  of  a 
precious  work  containing  several  volumes,  with  numerous 
expensive  engravings,  and  a  Museum  of  the  specimens  col- 
lected was  erected  in  Albany,  for  the  inspection  and  instruc- 
tion of  the  people.  Each  College  may  accomplish  the  same, 
at  vastly  less  expense,  in  the  manner  above  described  ;  and 
our  horticulture,  agriculture,  pisciculture,  and  mining  oper- 
ations, as  well  as  our  extensive  commerce  at  the  present 
day,  demand  more  attention  to  this  important  branch  of 
science. 


ORDER  III. 

STRAIGHT-WINGED  INSECTS— (ORTHOPTERA). 

All  insects  which  have  transversely  movable  jaws,  mem- 
braneous wings  (a  few  have  no  wings),  six  legs,  and  undergo 
no  metamorphosis,  belong  to  the  Order  Orthoptera,  Avhich 
signifies  in  English  "Straight-winged."  Among  these  are 
Grasshoppers,  Walking-leaves,  Crickets,  Cockroaches,  Ear- 
wigs, Soothsayers,  Walking-sticks,  etc. 

G^^asshoppers. 

Grasshoppers  have  been  divided  by  Linnaeus  into  two 
families  ;  viz.,  Grillidce  and  Locustida>. 

The  Grillid^,  or  those  properly  called  Grasshoppers, 
dwell,  as  their  name  indicates,  upon  the  ground,  in  mead- 
ows and  fields.  They  have  short  thread-like  feelers,  and 
their  females  are  destitute  of  an  ovipositor  ;  but  both  sexes, 
when  flying,  produce  a  stridulating  sound  by  rubbing  their 
saw-like  hind  legs  upon  their  parchment-like  wings. 

The  LocusTiD^  have  very  long  filiform  antennse.  The 
females  are  provided  with  a  long  sword-like  ovipositor,  and 
the  males  are  furnished  with  a  spot  resembling  an  eye  of 
glass  at  the  base  of  each  wing-cover,  which  they  rub  To- 
gether, and  thus  produce  their  peculiar  sound.  Their  wing- 
covers,  when  at  rest,  are  disposed  like  a  slanting  roof. 
Their  color  is  generally  bright  green,  which,  after  death, 
soon  changes  into  a  dingy  yellow,  but  may  be  preserved  by 
taking  out  the  intestines  of  the  animal  and  filling  the  ab- 
dominal cavity  with  cotton. 

Dr.  Harris,  in  his  work  on  the  Injurious  Insects  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  Mr.  Westwood,  in  his  "  Introduction  to  the 


96  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Modern  Classification  of  Insects,"  differ  from  me,  and  call 
the  first  family  Locustidce,  and  the  second  Grillidce,  probably 
in  order  to  harmonize  with  the  English  translations  of  the 
Bible. 

According  to  my  classification,  an  illustration  of  the 
Grillidae  is  seen  in  the  Carolina  Grasshopper  {Gryllus  Car- 
olina, Fig.  22),  and  of  the  Locustidaa  in  the  Katydid  {Pla- 
tophyllwn  concavum,  Harris,  Figs.  23  and  24). 

The  Grasshoppers  embrace  a  numerous  variety  of  differ- 
ent genera  and  species,  all  of  which  may  be  seen  in  their 
perfect  condition  at  the  beginning  of  autumn.  At  the  same 
season,  also,  the  females  deposit  their  eggs,  from  fifty  to 
one  hundred  each,  some  in  holes  in  the  ground,  others  fas- 
ten them  with  a  glutinous  substance  upon  different  kinds  of 
leaves.  From  these  eggs  proceed,  in  the  folloAving  spring, 
the  young  Grasshoppers,  which  exactly  resemble  the  per- 
fect insect,  except  in  being  destitute  of  wings ;  and  these 
are  not  developed  until  toward  the  end  of  summer,  when 
they  commence  their  ravages  among  the  various  kinds  of 
grasses  and  herbs.  On  account  of  their  injury  to  vegeta- 
tion in  many  countries,  premiums  are  paid  by  the  public 
authorities  for  their  collection  and  destruction.  For  in- 
stance, in  the  year  1825  the  city  of  Marseilles,  in  France, 
paid  6200  francs  for  collecting  and  destroying  these  nox- 
ious insects.  But  again,  in  many  countries  they  form  an 
article  of  diet,  and  the  inhabitants  of  some  parts  of  Asia 
and  Africa  use  them  as  food,  cooking  them  by  frying  them 
in  sweet  oil,  or  by  drying  and  then  pulverizing  them,  after 
which  they  are  made  into  bread. 

All  the  Grasshoppers,  when  taken,  try  to  bite,  and  in  so 
doing  they  discharge  a  brown  juice  from  their  mouth,  which 
act  probably  gave  rise  to  the  idea  that  they  were  ruminant 
animals,  like  our  cloven-hoofed  beasts,  who  have  more  than 
one  stomach.  In  some  parts  of  France,  Germany,  Italy, 
and  Hungary,  these  insects  are  used  as  a  remedy  for  warts. 


ORDER    III. STRAIGHT-WINGED    INSECTS. 


97 


and,  it  is  said,  successfully,  the  people  applying  them  to  the 
parts  affected,  and  allowing  them  to  bite  their  warts.  It 
is  not  improbable  that  the  remedy  owes  its  successful  ef- 
fect to  the  causticity  of  their  saliva,  which  may  act  like  the 
lapis  infernalis. 

Grasshoppers  are  veiy  often  subject  to  diseases  arising 
from  the  presence  of  intestinal  worms,  particularly  the  Hair- 
worm (Gordius),  which  not  unfrequently  causes  their  death. 

In  Germany  Grasshoppers  are  called  Heupferde,  that  is, 
"  Hay-horses,"  because  they  generally  feed  on  grasses,  and 
their  head  has  something  of  the  form  of  a  horse's  head.  The 
French  call  them  Sauterelles,  that  is,  "  Hoppers." 


Figure  22. 


Carolina  Grasshopper. 

The  Carolina  Grasshopper  {Gryllus  Carolina,  Fig.  22) 
is  a  very  common  insect  of  this  Order,  and  is  found  in  great 
numbers  in  the  months  of  August,  September,  and  October 
throughout  the  United  States.  So  numerous  are. they,  in 
fact,  that  one  can  not  walk  across  a  field  or  meadow  with- 

E 


98  NORTH   AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

out  being  annoyed  with  them,  as  they  unceremoniously  fly 
in  your  face,  or  alight  on  your  arms,  shoulders,  and  head. 
This  Grasshopper  is  about  one  and  a  half  inches  long,  and 
^vith  expanded  wings  about  three  inches  broad.  Its  wing- 
covers  are  of  a  dusky  brown  color,  and  its  wings  black, 
with  a  yellow  band  on  the  margin. 

But  there  are  also  found  in  the  United  States  a  great 
number  of  many  other  species,  which  are  generally  distin- 
guished from  each  other  by  the  color  of  their  wings. 

The  largest  and  handsomest  species  of  Grasshoppers  are 
found  in  South  America,  one  of  which  I  will  incidentally 
mention,  as  it  is  commonly  found  in  private  entomological 
collections.  This  is  the  Giillus  dux,  an  enormous  insect, 
its  wings,  when  expanded,  measuring  a  foot,  and  its  wing- 
covers  beautifully  colored  red  and  blue,  with  black  spots. 
The  wings  themselves,  when  not  expanded,  are  folded  to- 
gether like  a  fan,  as  is  the  case  with  all  other  species. 

But  all  Grasshoppers,  whether  handsome  or  not,  are  to 
be  considered  and  classed  as  noxious  insects.  They  de- 
vour every  kind  of  vegetation,  and  were  it  not  for  Nature's 
great  law  of  compensation,  so  admirably  carried  out  in  our 
own  highly-favored  country,  this  land  would  long  since 
have  been  laid  waste  by  the  ravages  of  these  rapacious  in- 
sects. As  it  is,  an  abundance  of  majestic  streams,  lakes, 
and  ponds  water  our  country  from  all  sides,  and  by  their 
evaporation  afford  sufficient  rain  for  moistening  the  ground 
and  making  it  fruitful  in  the  production  of  vegetables  for 
the  support  of  man,  as  well  as  rendering  it  a  fit  abode  for 
numerous  reptiles,  such  as  snakes,  turtles,  lizards,  salaman- 
ders, frogs,  and  toads.  Now  these  reptiles  all  feed  more  or 
less  on  insects,  and  in  preference  on  Grasshoppers,  of  wliich 
they  annually  destroy  an  innumerable  quantity.  Hence 
these  hideous  reptiles  are  the  instruments  made  use  of  by  a 
kind  Providence  to  rid  us  of  a  greater  evil.  We  can  only 
form  an   estimate  of  the  damage  that  would  be  done  to 


ORDER    III. STRAIGHT-WINGED    INSECTS.  99 

vegetation  were  it  not  for  these  reptiles,  by  comparing  our 
country  with  the  immense  prairie  lands  of  the  East  of  Eu- 
rope, and  several  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa,  which  are  des- 
titute of  water  and  trees,  and  Avhere  for  hundreds  of  miles 
neither  bird  nor  reptile  can  live,  but  where  myriads  of 
Grasshoppers  dwell  in  the  height  of  their  glory,  and  nothing 
green  is  spared  their  rapacious  jaws. 

It  is  a  matter  of  congratulation,  therefore,  and  an  evi- 
dence of  the  wisdom  of  that. gracious  rule  of  compensation, 
that  our  gardens,  fields,  meadows,  and  woods  are  peopled 
with  snakes  and  other  reptiles  Avhich  feed  mostly  upon  these 
destructive  insects.  "When,  therefore,  we  look  with  tetror 
on  the  crawling  serpents  and  the  croaking  frogs,  and  are 
tempted  to  Avish  their  number  less,  it  is  because  in  their 
hideous  forms  we  lose  sight  of  their  benevolent  use ;  we  for- 
get the  inexorable  decree  that  has  fixed  the  circle  of  depend- 
ence as  the  order  of  all  created  things ;  we  forget  that  all 
must  die  that  others  may  live ;  we  think  not  of  the  hosts 
of  birds,  such  as  Heron,  Bittern,  etc.,  who  feed  mostly  upon 
reptiles,  and  thereby  render  a  superabundance  of  the  latter 
impossible ;  we  consider  not  that  these  very  birds  must 
yield  themselves  up  as  food  for  man,  and  last  of  all,  that 
man  in  his  turn  must  die  and  also  be  devoured  by  insects. 
And  still  more  we  forget,  what  the  open  page  of  Nature 
clearly  shows  us,  that  the  moment  we  begin  to  live  we  also 
begin  to  die,  and  that  even  Avhile  Ave  Jive  in  all  the  pride 
of  health  we  are  the  constant,  daily  food  of  the  most  de- 
spised insects. 

But  the  Grasshopper,  although  neither  large  nor  terrific 
in  its  appearance,  has  a  curious  and  a  wonderful  history ; 
perhaps  more  so  than  any  other  insect.  It  is  the  same  in- 
sect whose  mode  of  life  and  whose  ravages  have  excited  the 
curiosity  of  Naturalists  as  well  as  Historians  in  all  ages. 
It  is  armed  Avith  two  pair  of  very  strong  jaAvs,  by  which  it 
can  both  lacerate  and  grind  its  food,  and  although  a  single 


100  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

individual  can  effect  but  comparatively  little  injury,  yet 
when  the  entire  surface  of  a  country  is  covered  with  myr- 
iads of  them,  and  each  one  makes  bare  the  spot  on  which  it 
stands,  the  evil  produced  by  them  must  be  as  immense  as 
their  numbers.  So  well  do  the  Arabians  know  and  feel 
their  power,  that  one  of  their  Poets  represents  a  Grasshop- 
per saying  to  Mohammed,  "  We  are  the  army  of  the  great 
God !  we  have  power  to  consume  the  whole  world  and  aU 
that  is  in  it ! " 

Many  ancient  and  modern  authors  have  given  accounts 
of  the  almost  incredible  injuries  done  to  the  human  race  by 
these  creatures ;  but  no  one,  I  believe,  has  ever  yet  related 
that  it  has  actually  been  necessary  to  send  an  army  of 
30,000  soldiers  against  them  in  order  to  prevent  their  rav- 
ages— a  fact  which  happened  under  my  own  observation, 
and  which  I  shall  soon  relate. 

The  eai'liest  records  we  have  concernuig  the  appearance 
of  Grasshoppers  on  the  earth  is  found  in  the  Bible,  where 
they  are  mentioned  as  one  of  the  Plagues  of  Egypt.  That 
country  was  then  so  covered  with  them  that  the  surface  of 
the  ground  could  not  be  seen,  and  all  the  trees  and  herbs 
were  destroyed  by  them.  We  find  this  account  in  the  Sec- 
ond Book  of  Moses,  chapter  10th.  "And  the  Grasshop- 
pers went  up  over  all  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  rested  in  all 
the  coasts  of  Egypt :  very  grievous  were  they.  .  .  .  For  they 
covered  the  face  of  the  whole  earth,  so  that  the  land  was 
darkened ;  and  they  did  eat  every  herb  of  the  land,  and  all 
the  fruit  of  the  trees  which  the  hail  had  left :  and  there  re- 
mained not  any  green  thing  in  the  trees,  or  in  the  herbs  of 
the  field,  through  all  the  land  of  Egypt." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  I  have  substituted  the  word 
"Grasshoppers"  for  the  word  "Locusts,"  as  it  occurs  in 
our  English  version  of  the  Bible ;  but  I  have  before  shown 
that  the  latter  word  is  incorrect,  and  that  the  animal  desig- 
nated in  Scripture  was  not  similar  to  our  locust  or  cicada. 


ORDER    III. STRAIGHT-WINGED    INSECTS.  101 

but  was  really  identical  with  the  Grasshopper  of  which  we 
are  here  speaking. 

According  to  Pliny,  the  inhabitants  of  Cirenaica,  in  Af- 
rica, were  particularly  subject  to  the  ravages  of  these  rapa- 
cious insects,  and  on  that  account  were  enjoined  by  law  to 
destroy  Grasshoppers,  in  their  three  different  conditions, 
three  times  during  the  year :  first  their  eggs,  wherever  they 
could  be  found,  then  their  young,  and  lastly  the  perfect  in- 
sect. He  states  also  that  a  similar  law  was  enacted  in 
Lemnos,  by  which  every  person  was  compelled  to  bring  a 
certain  measure  of  Grasshoppers  to  the  magistrates  an- 
nually. 

"  In  the  year  591  an  infinite  army  of  Grasshoppers  of 
a  size  unusually  large  ravaged  Italy,  and  being  at  last  cast 
into  the  sea,  from  their  stench  arose  a  pestilence  which  car- 
ried off  about  a  million  of  men  and  beasts.  In  the  Vene- 
tian territory  also,  in  1478,  more  than  thirty  thousand  per- 
sons are  said  to  have  perished  in  a  famine  occasioned  by 
these  terrific  scourges.  In  1650  a  cloud  of  them  was  seen 
to  enter  Russia  in  three  different  places,  from  whence  they 
passed  over  into  Poland  and  Lithuania,  and  wherever  they 
moved  the  air  was  darkened  by  their  numbers.  In  some 
places  they  were  observed  lying  dead,  heaped  one  upon  an- 
other to  the  depth  of  four  feet ;  in  others  they  covei'ed  the 
surface  of  the  earth  like  a  black  cloth,  the  trees  bent  from 
their  weight,  and  the  damage  done  by  them  exceeded  all 
computation.  When  the  weather  became  hot  they  took 
wing  and  fell  upon  the  corn,  devouring  both  leaf  and  ear, 
and  that  with  such  expedition  that  in  three  hours  they 
would  consume  the  whole  field.  After  having  eaten  up  the 
com,  they  attacked  the  vines,  the  pulse,  the  willows,  and 
at  last  the  hemp,  notwithstanding  its  bitterness.  In  1748 
they  were  again  observed  in  Europe,  in  Wallachia,  Molda- 
via, Transylvania,  Hungary,  Poland,  and  Germany,  and, 
according  tp  the  observations  made  at  that  time  in  Vienna, 


102  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

the  breadth  of  one  of  those  swarms  was  forty  miles,  and 
their  length  so  great  as  to  occupy  four  hours  in  passing  over 
the  city.  So  great,  also,  was  the  density  of  this  cloud  of 
Grasshoppei's  that  it  totally  intercepted  the  solar  light,  so 
that  when  they  flew  low  the  air  was  so  darkened  that  one 
person  could  not  see  another  at  the  distance  of  twenty 
paces."* 

The  account  of  a  traveler,  Mr.  Barrow,  of  their  ravages 
in  the  southern  parts  of  Africa  in  1797,  is  still  more  strik- 
ing. He  says :  "  An  area  of  nearly  two  thousand  square 
miles  might  be  said  to  be  literally  covered  by  them.  "When 
driven  into  the  sea  by  a  northwest  wind,  they  formed,  for 
fifty  miles  upon  the  shore,  a  bank  three  or  four  feet  high, 
and  when  the  wind  was  southeast  their  stench  was  so 
powerful  as  to  be  smelled  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  and 
fifty  miles." 

In  1825  the  Russian  empire  was  again  alarmed  by  the 
appearance  of  an  innumerable  quantity  of  Grasshoppers, 
of  which  I  had  the  pleasure  (if  pleasure  it  may  be  called) 
of  being  an  eye-witness.f 

I  left  the  city  of  Moscow  in  the  beginning  of  the  month 
of  April,  1825,  in  order  to  visit  the  Crimea,  the  Caucasus, 
and  the  countries  lying  between  the  Black  and  Caspian 
seas.  Passing  through  the  well-cultivated  States  (called 
in  Russia  Governments)  of  Moscow,  Orel,  Resan,  Char- 
kow,  Kiew,  and  Woronesch,  the  whole  population  of  these 
States  expressed  in  a  lamentable  manner  their  fear  of  per- 
ishing by  famine  on  account  of  the  enormous  quantity  of 

*  See  "  Introduction  to  Entomology,  by  Kirby  and  Spence.  Lon- 
don, 1818." 

t  See  Yers%ich  einer  Darstelliing  des  natiirlicher  Reichihinns,  der 
Grosse  und  Bevolkerung  der  Russischen  Lander  jenseits  des  Caucasus, 
von  B.  Jaegee,  Mitgliede  mehrer  gelehrten  Gesellshaften.  Leipzig, 
C.  H.  Hartmann,  1830. — Description  of  the  Natural  Kiches,  Extent, 
and  Population  of  the  Russian  Provinces  beyond  the  Caucasus,  by 
B.  Jaeger,  Member  of  several  Learned  Societies.    Leipzig,  1830. 


ORDER    III. STRAIGHT-AVINGED   IN^^ECTS.  103 

the  then  wingless  Grasshoppers  which  inundated  the  Desert 
Prairies  between  Kiew  and  Odessa,  and  between  the  Don 
and  the  Wolga  toward  Astrakhan  and  the  Caucasus,  and 
which  in  the  following  months  of  May  and  June  would 
have  full-grown  wings,  and  would  then  fly  in  endless 
swarms  toward  the  north  in  order  to  devour  the  luxuriant 
crops  of  the  well-cultivated  fields,  meadows,  and  orchards 
of  those  States.  I  was  traveling  in  great  haste,  going  about 
14  versts,  or  eight  English  miles,  per  hour,  night  and  day 
(which  was  then  considered  great  speed),  when  I  was  sud- 
denly checked  in  my  speed  in  the  desert  prairie  lands  about 
50  miles  behind  Kiew.  Here  the  ground,  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  was  covered  with  wingless  Grasshoppers,  near- 
ly two  inches  long,  and  lying  piled  up  one  upon  another 
to  the  height  of  two  feet.  Of  course  the  carriage  dragged 
heavily,  as  if  drawn  through  a  deep  mould,  which  prevented 
the  horses  from  trotting  or  even  walking  fast,  and  the  re- 
volving wheels  were  constantly  covered  from  two  to  three 
inches  high  with  mashed  Grasshoppers.  This  state  of 
things  continued  through  the  government  of  Ekatharinoslaw 
and  Cherson  to  the  Black  Sea,  a  distance  of  about  400 
miles.  The  sight  of  such  an  immense  number  of  the  most 
destructive  and  rapacious  insects  justly  occasioned  a  mel- 
ancholy foreboding  of  famine  and  pestilence,  in  case  they 
should  invade  the  cultivated  and  populous  countries  of  Rus- 
sia and  Poland  ;  and  they  certainly  would  have  caused  such 
a  disaster  had  not  active  measures  been  taken  to  prevent 
it.  It  was  in  this  instance  that  the  Emperor  Alexander 
sent  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  soldiers  to  destroy  an  army 
of  Grasshoppers.  The  soldiers  forming  a  line  of  several 
hundred  miles,  and  advancing  toward  the  south,  attacked 
them  not  with  sword  and  gun,  but  with  more  ancient  im- 
plements, with  shovels.  They  collected  them,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, in  sacks  and  burned  them.  Notwithstanding  this,  I 
found,  on  ray  arrival  in  the  Crimea,  in  the  middle  of  June, 


104  "NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

that  numbers  had  escaped,  acquired  their  wings,  and  had 
already  destroyed  a  great  part  of  the  vegetation. 

But  the  more  majestic  view  of  one  of  their  flying  swarms 
presented  itself  to  me  in  Asia,  in  the  island  of  Phanagoria, 
after  having  crossed  the  Black  Sea  at  Panticapacum,  the 
modern  city  of  Kertsch,  on  the  Bosporus.  This  island  is 
the  residence  of  the  Cossacks  of  the  Black  Sea,  who  on  that 
account  are  called  in  the  Russian  language  Tschernomorski, 
"Black  Sea  Islanders."  Soon  after  my  arrival  in  that 
country,  and  while  continuing  my  travels,  I  saw  before  me, 
at  a  distance  of  about  five  miles,  near  the  city  of  Tutmara- 
kan,  several  thick  and  solid  columns,  arising  perpendicu- 
larly from  the  ground,  like  the  smoke  of  a  volcano,  which 
at  the  height  of  five  hundred  feet  assumed  the  form  of 
heavy,  dark  clouds,  which  soon  covered  the  whole  sky,  en- 
tirely intercepting  all  solar  light. 

These  apparent  clouds  were  nothing  but  swarms  of 
Grasshoppers,  which  in  a  short  time  descended  to  the 
ground  with  a  shrill,  whistling  noise,  covering  an  immense 
area  of  land  which  a  few  hours  before  was  clothed  with 
thick  luxuriant  grass,  and  in  a  few  moments  after  was  as 
barren  as  a  turnpike. 

This  species  of  Grasshopper  is  over  two  inches  long,  and 
of  a  light  brown  color.  On  account  of  its  wandering  life, 
it  was  called  by  Linnaeus  the  migratory  or  wandering 
Grasshopper  {Gryllus  migratorius).  This  is  the  same  insect 
as  the  one  mentioned  by  Matthew  in  the  3d  chapter,  4th 
verse,  where  he  speaks  of  John,  saying  "  his  meat  was  lo- 
custs and  wild  honey,"  and  it  is  even  now  a  common  arti- 
cle of  food  among  several  Eastern  nations,  and  particularly 
among  the  Arabians. 

In  the  United  States  we  have  a  large  number  of  different 
species  of  Grasshopper,  whose  characteristics  are  very  sim- 
ilar, and  whose  ravages  would  be  very  extensive,  breeding 
famine  and  pestilence,  if  they  were  allowed  to  increase  and 


ORDER   III. STRAIGHT-WINGED    INSECTS.  105 

multiply  as  tbey  do  in  other  countries.  This,  however,  as 
has  been  remarked,  is  impossible  as  long  as  we  have  so 
many  reptiles  and  birds  to  devour  them. 

The  Katydid  (Platyphyllum  concavum). 
The  Katydid  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  Grasshop- 
pers of  North  America.  In  the  cool  evenings  of  autumn 
its  melancholy  song  reverberates  from  every  tree  in  our  or- 
chards and  forests,  and  its  never-ceasing  complaint,  that 
Katy  did,  has  not  only  suggested  a  thousand  pleasant  rec- 
ollections, but  has  often  occasioned  many  curious  and  poat- 
ical  conjectures  as  to  its  origin  and  significance.  I  use  the 
word  significance  in  its  most  extended  sense,  for  I  know  no- 
thing in  nature  that  is  insignificant.  Every  voice,  every 
sound,  each  warbling  note  that  echoes  in  the  empty  air,  and 
every  act  of  animated  nature,  has  some  deep,  often  myste- 
rious meaning.  To  the  thoughtful  mind  all  convey  some 
important  moral  lesson,  either  in  the  garb  and  soul  of  po- 
etical association,  or  by  the  stronger  and  more  irresistible 
force  of  example.  The  busy  bee,  that  improves  each  shin- 
ing hour,  can  not  fail  of  favorably  impressing  us  with  the 
contentment  and  the  sure  success  that  follows  patient  and 
persevering  industry.  The  slimy  and  venomous  reptiles  ex- 
cite our  disgust  and  abhorrence,  and  unconsciously  teach  us 
how  to  regard  their  groveling  similitudes.  The  ever  con- 
stant and  faithful  dog  that  bears  us  company  is  ever  silent- 
ly but  surely  impressing  upon  us  the  great  lesson  of  fidelity. 
The  gentle  lamb,  that  even  "licks  the  hand  just  raised  to 
shed  its  blood,"  shows  us  not  only 

"  Blindness  to  the  future,  kindly  given, 
That  each  may  fill  the  circle  marked  by  Heaven ;" 

but  it  affords  us  the  most  striking  example  of  confiding  in- 
nocence and  spotless  purity.  The  metamorphosis  of  the 
crawling  caterpillar  into  the  beautiful  and  lively  butterfly 
has  in  all  ages  proved  a  lesson  of  comfort  and  of  hone  to 

E2 


106 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Figure  23. 


Male  Katydid. 

man,  almost  divesting  death  of  its  terrors  by  pointing  the 
soul  to  its  more  glorious  garb  in  that  higher  and  purer 
ether  into  which  it  introduces  him.  So  each  animated 
atom  of  creation  bears  the  stamp  of  some  great  moral  or 
intellectual  significance,  and  appeals  alike  to  the  poet's  en- 
thusiasm, the  natui'alist's  all-absorbing  love  of  nature,  the 
philosopher's  burning  desire  to  penetrate  hidden  mysteries, 
and  to  man's  universal  and  unborn  conviction  that  naught /^ 
was  ever  made  in  vain. 

Such  reflections  might  be  pursued  through  a  thousand 
various  ramifications,  and  assuredly  prove  what  the  contem- 
plation of  this  little  insect  could  do,  if  they  do  not  satisfac- 
torily acquaint  us  with  what  "  Katy  did."  But  a  facetious 
poet  has  asked  this  little  insect  tattler  what  occasioned  its 


ORDER    III. STRAIGHT-WINGED    INSECTS.  107 

Figure  24. 


Female  Katydid. 

everlasting  song  of  "  Katydid,"  and  pretends  to  have  ob- 
tained for  an  answer  cei-tain  hints  as  to  sundry  interviews 
between  a  certain  Miss  Katy  and  her  lover.  After  describ- 
ing the  happy  interview  beneath  the  moon-lit  bower  of 
love,  and  assuring  her  that  he  heard  every  word,  however 
soft  and  low  it  fell,  he  says  : 

"But  never  fear  me,  gentle  one,  nor  waste  a  thought  or  tear, 
Lest  I  should  whisper  what  I  heard  in  any  mortal  ear; 
I  only  sport  among  the  boughs,  and,  like  a  spirit  hid, 
I  think  on  what  I  saw  and  heard,  and  laugh  out  '  Katydid.' 

"I  see  among  the  leaves  here,  when  evening  zephyrs  sigh, 
And  those  that  listen  to  my  voice  I  love  to  mystify ; 
I  never  tell  them  all  I  know,  although  I'm  often  bid; 
I  laugh  at  curiosity,  and  chirrup  '  Katydid. '  "      s. 


108  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

The  Katydid  is  nearly  one  and  a  half  inches  long,  and 
its  wings  when  expanded  are  about  three  inches  wide.  Its 
wings  are  of  a  pale  green,  and  its  wing-covers  of  a  dark 
green  color,  which,  however,  fades  away  and  becomes  brown 
when  the  insect  is  dead  and  dried.  This  change  of  color 
may  be  prevented,  as  I  have  before  mentioned  in  regard  to 
the  Gryllus  Carolina,  by  taking  out  its  intestines  imme- 
diately after  death,  and  filling  the  abdominal  cavity  with 
cotton,  which  is  easily  done  by  making  a  longitudinal  in- 
cision through  the  under  part  of  the  hind-body  with  a  sharp 
penknife. 

The  wing-covers  are  interwoven  with  veins  resembling 
those  of  a  leaf,  and  in  the  males  have  a  hard,  glassy  mem- 
brane at  the  base  of  each,  which  is  shaped  somewhat  like  a 
human  eye,  and  which,  being  rubbed  together  by  the  saw- 
ing-like  motion  of  their  wing-covers,  produces  the  sound 
peculiar  to  this  insect.  The  poor  females  are  destitute  of 
these  musical  organs,  and  are  consequently  obliged  to  keep 
silence  and  listen  to  the  music  of  their  lords ;  but  they  are 
provided  with  a  formidable-looking  sword-like  ovipositor  at 
the  extremity  of  the  abdomen,  with  which  they  pierce  holes 
in  the  ground  for  the  purpose  of  depositing  their  eggs. 
These  eggs  are  generally  laid  in  the  fall,  and  are  hatched 
out  in  the  ensuing  spring. 

A  very  close  and  interesting  observation  of  the  conduct 
of  these  insects  may  be  made  every  autumn  by  putting  a 
pair  of  them  into  a  wide  glass  vessel,  having  the  bottom 
covered  with  turf,  which,  however,  must  be  sprinkled  with 
water  every  day.  As  soon  as  the  evening  begins  the  female 
will  commence  laying  her  eggs  and  depositing  them  in  the 
ground,  and  the  male  will  announce  in  loud  tones  that  Katy- 
did-it. If  you  preserve  these  eggs  in  the  turf  through  the 
winter,  and  open  them  in  the  following  spring,  you  will 
find  the  insect  in  a  perfect  condition,  except  being  destitute 
of  wings.     It  is  a  very  singular  fact,  and  shows  the  gener- 


ORDER    III. STRAIGHT-AVINGED    INSECTS.  109 

al  deficiency  in  entomological  knowledge,  that,  numberless 
though  they  be,  still  very  few  persons  can  say  that  they 
have  seen  this  handsome  little  insect.  It  dwells  in  trees 
and  shrubs,  and  usually  conceals  itself  during  the  day  un- 
der the  leaves.  I  have  no  doubt  that  many,  if  not  all,  have 
accidentally  met  with  it,  but  few  except  those  acquainted 
with  entomology  have  observed  it  knowing  it  to  be  the  fa- 
mous Katydid ;  and  I  have  often  been  surprised,  when  de- 
scribing this  insect  to  persons  of  intelligence  who  have  had 
every  opportunity  of  noticing  it,  to  hear  them  say,  "  I  have 
never  seen  one."  Its  voice,  however,  has  been  heard  by  all, 
and  is  very  generally  considered  the  harbinger  of  approach- 
ing winter. 

Fig.  23  represents  the  male  Katydid ;  Fig.  24  the  female, 
with  expanded  wings. 

There  are  several  other  species  in  this  country,  all  of  a 
more  or  less  green  color,  and  all  belonging  to  the  same  fam- 
ily; as,  for  instance,  the  Sword-bearer  {Conocephalus  en- 
siger),  with  a  conical  head  and  a  very  long  ovipositor ;  the 
Oblong  leaf-winged  Katydid  {Phylloptera  oblongifolia) ;  the 
Narrow-leaved  Katydid  {Phwieroptera  angustifolia),  and  sev- 
eral others. 

But  the  tropics  furnish  many  other  species,  which  bear  a 
still  more  striking  resemblance  to  leaves ;  and  from  this 
circumstance  are  accordingly  named  Laurel-leaf,  Lily-leaf, 
Myrtle-leaf,  etc. 

This  close  resemblance  has  been  the  origin  of  many  fab- 
ulous accounts  and  marvelous  stories,  namely,  that  some 
kinds  of  leaves  are  metamorphosed  into  insects,  and  living 
insects  are  changed  into  dead  leaves,  etc.,  etc. 

A  certain  traveler,  in  a  work  on  America  published  sev- 
eral years  ago,  related  the  most  absurd  stories  in  regard  to 
these  insects.  He  said  that  on  this  continent  an  animated 
insect  often  changes  itself  into  a  lifeless  plant  by  putting  its 
feet  into  the  ground  and  allowing  them  to  take  root,  when 


110  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

they  actually  become  the  stems  of  a  foliated  plant;  that 
leaves  are  sometimes  changed  into  insects  with  a  distinct 
head,  throat,  abdomen,  and  legs.  No  one,  he  says,  can  doubt 
these  facts,  as  there  are  in  Brazil  thousands  of  witnesses  who 
are  ready  to  prove  that  they  have  often  observed  these  phe- 
nomena. 

Some  months  ago  there  appeared  an  article  in  several  of 
our  newspapers  under  the  title  of  "Vegetable  Insects,"  in 
which  it  is  stated  on  good  authority  that  therq  is  found  in 
Australia  a  caterpillar  which  is  metamorphosed  into  a 
plant. 

On  closely  examining  the  phenomena,  it  is  found  that 
the  caterpillars  of  a  certain  Hawk-moth  in  that  country 
dwell  and  feed  upon  the  leaves  of  a  certain  tree,  and  that 
when  descending  to  the  ground  for  the  purpose  of  construct- 
ing their  cocoons  there  actually  grows  out  of  the  body  of 
almost  every  one  of  them  a  vegetating  plant,  after  which 
the  caterpillar  becomes  dry  and  hard,  and  assumes  the  ap- 
pearance of  cork.  Now  I  suppose  this  singular  phenom- 
enon may  be  strictly  true ;  and,  in  order  to  its  explanation, 
it  is  necessary  to  know  that  fungi,  mushrooms,  and  other 
vegetable  productions  of  this  tribe  have  extremely  .fine, 
small  seeds,  which  are  dispersed  in  the  air  by  the  most  sub- 
tile zephyrs,  and  which  will  germinate  on  every  vegetable 
and  animal  body  upon  which  they  may  lodge,  provided  they 
find  there  sufficient  moisture  for  vegetation.  If  they  fall 
upon  the  body  of  the  caterpillar,  as  is  probably  the  case, 
they  will  germinate  upon  it,  take  root  in  it,  and  of  course, 
in  developing,  will  gradually  destroy  the  vitality  of  the  an- 
imal, and  leave  nothing  of  it  but  the  dried-up,  cork-like 
body  with  its  vegetating  fungus. 

The  same  phenomenon  has  been  observed  in  the  Silk- 
worm, which  is  very  often  subject  to  a  disease  by  which  its 
body  is  completely  covered  with  a  white  effervescence.  The 
real  nature  of  this  distemper  was  for  a  long  time  unknown, 


ORDER    III. STRAIGHT- WINGED    INSECTS.  Ill 

and,  in  fact,  was  never  ascertained  until  the  year  1835, 
when  Signer  Bassi  proved  it  to  be  a  minute  fungus,  called 
Botiytis  hassiana,  in  a  state  of  vegetation,  which  had  by  de- 
grees occupied  the  whole  interior  of  the  body,  and  then 
burst  through  the  skin. 

The  same  kind  of  parasitic  growths  may  occur  on  the 
human  body,  or  on  any  animal  or  vegetable  body,  and  it  is 
probably  the  ignorance  of  these  facts  that  has  occasioned  so 
many  marvelous  and  absurd  stories  by  travelers.  Simple- 
matters  in  science  may  thus  become  wonderful  bugbears 
to  the  uneducated.  I  suppose  some  would  hardly  believe 
that  in  the  tropics  a  mahogany-tree  will  gradually  change 
into  a  gamboge-tree ;  but  this  is  a  fact  which  I  have  wit- 
nessed, and  it  can  be  explained  very  easily.  It  is  really  no 
more  remarkable  than  our  ordinary  process  of  grafting. 
The  seeds  of  the  Clusia  alba  et  rosea,  a  species  of  gamboge- 
tree,  when  fully  matured,  burst  their  pods,  and,  inclosed  in 
a  gummy  substance,  they  drop  from  the  tree,  like  so  many 
caterpillars  letting  themselves  down  by  a  fine  filament  to 
the  ground.  If  one  of  these  trees  stands  near  a  mahogany- 
tree,  the  seeds  are  blown  by  the  wind,  as  they  swing  in  the 
air,  against  the  trunk  of  the  latter  tree,  and,  being  covered 
with  the  viscid  gamboge,  they  adhere  to  its  bark,  take  root 
in  it,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  they  change  its  whole 
character.  The  trunk  and  branches  of  the  mahogany-tree 
gradually  decay  and  drop  off,  and  in  its  stead  grows  the 
gamboge-tree,  trunk,  branches,  and  all. 

Crickets  (Acheta). 

The  Cricket  has  already  been  immortalized  in  the  En- 
glish poetry  of  Cowper,  and  although  its  race  may  become 
extinct,  as  long  as  the  languages  endure  it  still  must  be 
familiar  to  all.  Its  pleasant  song,  from  June  to  October, 
during  the  whole  season  of  tropical  illusions,  has  excited 
much  admiration  in  the  lovers  of  nature  for  many  ages ; 


112  NORTH    AMERICAN   INSECTS. 

and  the  pleasing  reminiscences  of  love  and  of  home  which 
its  chu'ping  arouses,  recently  so  touchingly  portrayed  in 
that  admirable  little  tale  of  Charles  Dickens,  entitled  "  The 
Cricket  on  the  Hearth,"  has  thrown  a  charm  around  its 
life  and  history  perhaps  never  before  so  graphically  real- 
ized. In  fact,  Dickens  has  embodied  the  superstitious  ven- 
eration of  this  little  insect,  common  among  the  country 
people  of  many  nations,  when  he 'makes  his  heroine  say, 
"  It's  sure  to  bring  us  good  fortune,  John !  It  always  has 
been  so.  To  have  a  cricket  on  the  hearth  is  the  luckiest 
thing  in  the  world."  And  Cowper  did  the  same,  years 
before,  when  he  sung : 

"  Little  inmate,  full  of  mirth, 
Chirping  on  my  kitchen  hearth, 
Wheresoe'er  be  thine  abode, 
Always  harbinger  of  good, 
Pay  me  for  thy  warm  retreat 
With  a  song  more  soft  and  sweet." 

There  are  several  species  of  Crickets,  some  of  which  are 
found  in  every  part  of  the  world,  but  all  resembling  each 
other  in  their  distinguishing  characteristics.  They  are  of 
different  sizes  and  colors,  according  to  their  different  spe- 
cies, but  all  have  parchment-like  wing-covers,  and  produce 
the  sound  peculiar  to  them  by  rubbing  the  sharp  margins 
of  their  wing-covers  together.  Of  all  insects  they  are  per- 
haps the  most  indefatigable  musicians,  some  of  them  thus 
fiddling  with  their  wings  from  daybreak  until  sundown, 
and  others  from  evening  until  the  rising  of  the  sun. 

There  are  some  Crickets  which  dwell  only  upon  trees  and 
bushes,  and  never  come  to  the  ground ;  these  are,  on  this 
account,  called  Tree-crickets.  Others  live  only  on  the 
ground,  and  are  known  by  the  name  of  Field-crickets. 
Others  still  live  in  the  walls  of  houses,  and  are  called 
House-crickets. 

The  Tree-cricket,  also  called  CLiMBrNG-CRiCKET  {Ache- 


ORDER    HI. STRAIGIIT-WINGED    INSECTS. 


113 


The  Tree-cricket. 


ta  nivea,  Fig.  25),  is  a  very  delicate  insect,  of  a^ale  ivory 
color,  with  long  antennae,  and  a  short  p.  ^^^  ^5 

body,  only  half  an  inch  in  length  ;  its 
wing-covers  are  thin,  transparent,  and 
ornamented  with  three  oblique,  raised 
lines.  Like  the  Katydid,  it  is  often 
seen  creeping  upon  the  leaves  of  trees 
and  shrubs,  without  being  recognized 
as  the  little  creature  whose  loud  and 
shrill  sound  is  so  familiar.  Only  the 
male  Cricket  produces  this  sound, 
which  it  does  by  elevating  its  sharp 
wing-covers  very  high  and  rubbing 
them  together  very  rapidly.  The  pi'o- 
cess  may  be  distinctly  seen  by  keep- 
ing one  under  a  glass  tumbler  and  watching  its  movements. 
They  are,  however,  quite  difficult  to  catch,  as  they  conceal 
themselves  behind  the  leaves  during  the  day  and  night,  and 
only  occasionally  come  out  of  their  shady  abode. 

In  the  beginning  of  autumn  the  female  makes  incisions 
into  the  tender  branches  upon  which  it  dwells,  and  therein 
deposits  her  eggs.  These  are  not  hatched  until  the  com- 
mencement of  the  following  summer,  when  the  young  ones 
come  out,  and  attain  their  perfect  condition  about  the  first 
of  August,  and  in  southern  climates  even  before  that  time. 

The  Field-crickets  (Acheta  nigra  et  viitata)  are  black, 
and  so  well  known  to  every  one  that  a  minute  description 
of  them  would  be  superfluous.  They  live  in  meadows  and 
the  margins  of  fields,  where  the  grass  is  not  very  high,  and 
the  spot  constantly  exposed  to  the  sun.  They  select  a 
small  spot  of  rising  ground  for  their  abodes,  which  they 
make  by  digging  holes  into  the  ground,  at  first  in  a  horizon- 
tal direction,  and  then  perpendicularly  downward.  They 
always  walk  into  their  holes  backward,  that  is  to  say,  with 
their  hind  legs  first,  and  while  singing  are  usually  standing 


114  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

before  the  entrance  to  their  abodes,  ready  to  retreat  in  case 
of  necessity. 

They  eat  grass,  seeds,  and  fruit,  and  with  great  industry 
carry  their  provisions  into  their  holes,  that  they  may  con- 
sume them  at  their  leisure.  They  are  very  fond  of  drink- 
ing, but  are  extremely  delicate  about  it,  and  will  only 
touch  the  water  that  adheres  to  leaves,  literally  as  well  as 
poetically  slaking  their  thirst  with  only  the  dew  of  leaves 
and  flowers.  In  their  journeys  they  are  very  careful  to 
avoid  water,  and  if  a  small  stream  or  puddle  happens  to  be 
in  their  way  they  carry  pebbles  into  it,  or  grass  or  small 
pieces  of  wood,  until  they  fill  it  up  so  that  they  can  pass 
over  it  without  getting  wet ;  and  this  instinct  teaches  them 
to  do,  because  if  they  should  wet  their  antennae  they  would 
trouble  them  by  sticking  together. 

Crickets,  when  young  and  before  they  are  provided  with 
wings,  live  peacefully  together  under  stones,  but  as  they 
get  their  growth  and  wings  they  become  great  enemies  to 
each  other.  The  females  bite  off  the  legs  of  the  males, 
and  the  males  themselves  are  continually  fighting  with  each 
other.  If  they  meet  face  to  face,  they  butt  one  another  like 
rams ;  and  if  they  meet  back  to  back,  they  kick  like  horses.  ^ 

This  quarrelsome  disposition  of  Field-crickets  may  b&' 
made  serviceable  in  getting  rid  of  the  House-crickets,  for  it 
is  only  necessary  to  bring  a  few  of  the  former  into  the 
house,  or  rooms,  which  is  infested  with  the  latter,  and  war 
will  take  place  in  the  camp  immediately. 

The  youth  of  Germany,  however,  are  extremely  fond  of 
them,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  boy  who  has  not  several  small 
boxes  made  expressly  for  keeping  his  Crickets  in.  They 
catch  them  by  thrusting  a  long  flexible  stem  of  grass  into 
their  holes  and  forcing  them  out,  and  so  much  delighted 
are  they  with  their  music  that  they  carry  their  boxes  of 
Crickets  into  their  bedrooms  at  night,  and  are  soothed  to 
sleep  with  their  chirping  lullaby. 


ORDER   III. STRAIGHT-WINGED    INSECTS.  115 

The  House  or  Domestic  Cricket  (Acheta  domestica)  is 
smaller  than  the  Field-cricket,  being  about  one  inch  long, 
and  of  a  yellowish  color.  It  dwells  in  the  cracks  of  walls 
and  flooi's,  particularly  in  bake-houses  and  breweries,  and 
wherever  else  they  can  find  bread,  and  meal,  and  moistened 
grain,  for  they  are  always  thirsty ;  and  in  houses,  if  they 
can  not  get  a  sufficiency  of  water  elsewhere,  they  attack 
wet  shoes  and  clothes.  They  are  provided  with  wings, 
with  which  they  fly  from  place  to  place,  and  from  house  to 
house ;  and  there  have  been  people  superstitious  enough  to 
believe  that  if  a  Cricket  flies  from  another  house  into  theirs 
and  commences  its  melancholy  song,  it  is  a  signal  of  the 
death  of  some  member  of  the  family.  But  such  supersti- 
tions are  not  common  nowadays ;  on  the  contrary,  their 
presence  is  very  generally  considered  an  omen  of  good,  and 
among  country  people  every  where  the  song  of  the  Cricket 
is  agreeable  and  highly  prized. 

It  is  a  true  remark  that  the  deepest  emotions  are  those 
most  noiseless.  When  the  patriot  Lafayette  visited  this 
country  many  years  ago,  he  was  received  with  distinguished 
applause  and  parade  wherever  he  went ;  the  citizens  of 
every  city  and  village  through  which  he  passed  exerted 
themselves  to  the  utmost  to  do  him  honor,  and  the  country 
resounded  with  the  merry  ringing  of  bells,  with  the  trum- 
pet of  jubilee,  and  with  the  booming  cannonade.  But  the 
greatest  compliment  paid  him,  and  that  which  affected  his 
noble  heart  most  deeply,  was  in  a  little  country  village,  in 
which  there  was  no  band  of  music,  no  firing  of  guns,  no 
soldiery,  no  parade,  but  at  the  entrance  of  which  the  in- 
habitants met  him  with  uncovered  heads  and  waving  hand- 
kerchiefs as  he  passed  under  the  arch  they  had  erected  over 
the  road,  and  which  bore  this  inscription : 

"Come  then,  Expressive  Silence,  muse  his  j^raise!" 
And  so  it  is  with  the  mind  of  man,  generally  ;  any  thing 


116  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

that  excites  the  powerful  impression  of  awe  or  amazement, 
on  the  yet  more  touching  and  inexpressible  feelings  of  the 
heart,  produces  a  profound  and  speechless  silence.  Lovers 
and  friends,  old  men  and  little  children,  sit  silently  together 
for  hours,  looking  at  each  other  in  rapt  admiration,  their 
souls  mingling  and  blending  together,  conversing  telegraph- 
ically with  each  other  in  tones  that  human  tongues  can  not 
utter,  because  only  human  words  can  dwell  on  human  lips ; 
but  the  spirit  sits  above  the  tongue  and  has  its  own  pecul- 
iar language,  which  it  alone  knows  how  to  express.  Some- 
thing of  this  effect  seems  to  be  produced  by  the  chirping  of 
the  domestic  cricket.  People  whom  the  world  call  brain- 
less, those  who  can  not  claim  a  spark  of  romance  or  poet- 
ry, as  well  as  those  in  whom  the  intellectual  fire  burns 
brightest,  seem  very  generally  to  be  calmed  into  silent,  pen- 
sive, meditative  thought  by  the  mere  sound  of  this  little 
insect  rubbing  its  wings  together!  "What  there  is  in  the 
sound  that  is  attractive,  or  why  it  produces  such  effect,  is 
more  than  any  one  has  tried  to  fathom ;  but  the  fact  is  ac- 
knowledged by  all,  and  there  are  few  who  will  not  say  with 
Cowper : 

"  Though  in  voice  and  shape  they  be 

Formed  as  if  akin  to  tliee, 

Thou  surpassest,  happier  far, 

Happiest  Grasshopper  that  are. 

Theirs  is  but  a  summer's  song, 

Thine  endures  the  winter  long, 

Unimpair'd,  and  shrill,  and  clear, 

Melody  throughout  the  year. 

Neither  night  nor  dawn  of  day 
Puts  a  period  to  thy  play; 
Sing  then,  and  extend  thy  span 
Far  beyond  the  date  of  man. 
Wretched  man,  whose  years  are  spent 
In  repining  discontent. 
Lives  not,  aged  though  he  be, 
Half  a  span  compared  with  thee." 


ORDER  III. STRAIGHT-WINGED    INSECTS.  117 

The  Mole-cricket  {Acheta  gryllotalpa)  is  larger  than 
either  of  tlie  three  species,  being  about  two  inches  long, 
and  distinguished  from  the  others  by  Iiaving  very  wide 
mole-Hke  fore  feet,  very  short  wings,  and  short  hind  legs. 
Its  body  is  of  a  grayish  color,  and  its  feet  are  brown. 

From  the  peculiar  construction  of  its  fore  feet  it  may 
readily  be  inferred  that  it  acts  in  the  same  manner  under 
ground  as  the  mole,  and  so  it  does ;  it  feeds  on  the  roots  of 
plants,  and  is  sometimes  very  injurious  to  our  gardens  and 
meadows.  This  insect  is  scarcely  ever  seen  above  ground, 
but  its  presence  may  easily  be  detected  by  the  withering 
blight  that  marks  its  subterranean  ravages.  We  frequently 
see  large  spots  of  grass  in  our  meadows  becoming  yellow, 
and  drying  up,  because  its  roots  are  devoured  by  the  Mole- 
cricket,  which  dwells  under  it.  These  insects  would  prove 
much  more  annoying  and  injurious  to  us,  were  they  not 
constantly  being  destroyed  by  moles,  lizzards,  and  snakes. 

Cockroaches  (Blatta). 

The  Common  Cockroach  {Blatta  orientalis)  has  been  so 
universally  known  in  the  Old  and  the  New  AVorld  for  ages, 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  ascertain  whence  it  first  orig- 
inated. Suffice  it  to  say  that  it  has  a  flat  body,  about  an 
inch  long,  of  a  dirty  yellow  .or  black  color,  and  long  awl- 
shaped  antenna?,  each  of  which  is  composed  of  eighty  joints. 

Cockroaches,  as  is  well  known,  are  very  voracious,  and 
devour  eveiy  thing  that  comes  in  their  way,  and  as  they 
are  at  the  same  time  very  prolific,  they  should  always  be 
destroyed  when  encountered.  This  may  be  done  by  poui'- 
ing  boiling  water  upon  them,  or  suffocating  them  with  sul- 
phur smoke.  Many  houses  in  St.  Petersburg  have  been  so 
infested  with  them  that  it  has  actually  been  necessary  to 
burn  them  down  in  order  to  get  rid  of  these  noxious  in- 
sects. 


118  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Ear-ivigs  (Forficula). 

The  Common  Ear-wig  {Forficula  auricularia)  is  about  one 
inch  long,  and  has  yellowish  legs  and  a  brown  body.  Its 
upper  wings  are  very  short,  but  the  under  ones  are  as  long 
as  the  whole  body,  and  will  expand  like  those  of  a  butterfly, 
making  it  seem  almost  impossible  that  they  can  be  so  folded 
up  as  to  have  room  enough  under  their  short  wing-covers. 

These  little  animals  present  one  very  extraordinary  phe- 
nomenon among  insects ;  they  ai'e  not  only  oviparous,  but 
they  bring  forth  their  young  by  incubation ;  and  during  the 
month  of  April  the  females  may  always  be  found  under 
stones,  sitting  upon  their  eggs  like  a  hen.  The  young  are 
hatched  like  chickens,  and  in  the  month  of  June  may  be 
found  with  their  mother,  resembling  her  entirely,  with  ex- 
ception of  the  wings. 

It  has  long  been  a  prevalent  popular  superstition  that 
the  Ear-wig  creeps  through  the  ear  into  the  brain  of  sleep- 
ing persons,  and  thus  occasions  their  death.  But  an  in- 
stance of  the  kind  has  never  come  to  light,  and  we  can  eas- 
ily believe  it  impossible,  as  their  jaws  and  abdominal  pinch- 
ers are  not  strong  enough  to  admit  of  their  doing  any  such 
injury.  They  are,  however,  justly  persecuted  and  destroy- 
ed by  gardeners,  because  they  make  holes  in  ripe  fruit,  as 
peaches,  apricots,  pears,  and  prunes,  and  feed  on  them. 
They  are  also  very  prone  to  conceal  themselves  in  pink 
flowers  and  dahlias,  when  in  full  bloom,  and  spoil  them. 
On  this  account,  gardeners  often  suspend  lobster-shells, 
reeds,  etc.,  on  these  plants,  that  the  Ear-wigs  may  conceal 
themselves  in  them  instead  of  the  flowers. 

The  Soot/isayers  (Mantis). 

The  Soothsayers  are  distinguished  by  an  unusually 
long,  flat  hind  body,  a  perpendicularly-erected  long  neck- 
like thorax,  short,  horizontally-folded,  generally  green,  or 


ORDER    III. STRAIGHT-WINGED    INSECTS.  119 

grayish  brown  wings,  two  very  long  fore  legs,  which  are 
continually  stretched  out  to  catch  insects,  and  two  short 
antennae.  They  have  received  the  name  Mantis  from  the 
Greek  word  signifying  "  Soothsayer,"  on  account  of  their 
curious  motions,  and  that  of  "Camel-crickets"  from  the 
great  length  of  their  neck. 

They  are  very  seldom  found  in  the  Middle  or  Eastern 
States  of  the  Union,  but  are  seen  in  Maryland  and  all  the 
Southern  States,  and  several  species  are  found  in  the  trop- 
ics. They  dwell  upon  the  leaves  of  ti-ees  and  bushes,  walk- 
ing very  slowly  upon  their  four  hind  legs,  or  sitting  station- 
ary for  hours,  like  the  chameleon,  waiting  for  their  prey. 
As  soon  as  they  perceive  a  fly  or  a  caterpillar  approaching, 
they  turn  their  heads  on  all  sides,  watching  its  movements, 
then  they  creep  toward  it  slowly,  like  a  cat  after  a  mouse, 
until,  with  the  rapidity  of  an  arrow,  they  pounce  upon  it 
and  grasp  it  with  their  sharp-pointed  foro*  feet.  Having 
devoured  their  victims,  they  resume  their  former  position, 
and  sit  stationary,  holding  up  their  fore  legs  as  if  in  the  at- 
titude of  prayer.  Hence  the  country  people  of  France,  as- 
suming that  it  is  engaged  in  prayer,  call  this  insect  "  Prie 
Dieu-"  the  Italians,  ^^  Prega  Dio  •"  the  Germans,  '^  Gottes- 
Anheterinn  ;'^  and  the  Latin  names  of  ^^  Mantis  religiosa,  pre- 
caria,  sancta,  superstitiosa,  oratoria,  mendica,  pauperata,''^  etc., 
which  have  been  applied  to  it,  are  derived  from  the  same 
superstition. 

In  the  life  of  the  celebrated  missionary,  St.  Francis  Xa- 
vier,  we  read  "  that  when  he  saw  a  Mantis  holding  up  its 
arms  in  deep  devotion,  he  asked  the  insect  to  sing  the 
praises  of  God,  whereupon  it  chanted  a  very  fine  canticle." 

Sparmann,  a  distinguished  traveler  in  Africa,  informs  us 
*'  that  this  insect,  the  Mantis,  is  worshiped  by  the  Hotten- 
tots as  a  tutelary  divinity ;  and  if  it  happens  to  alight  on 
any  person,  he  is  at  once  considered  as  the  peculiar  favorite 
of  Heaven,  and  is  looked  up  to  a?  a  saint." 


120  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Ill  what  a  different  light  does  the  naturalist  look  upon 
the  Mantis !  This  cowardly  and  cruel  insect,  which  is  it- 
self afraid  of  a  little  ant,  can  only  be  regarded  as  in  the 
attitude  of  those  whom  the  poet  describes  as 

"Borrowing  the  livery  of  Heaven  to  serve  the  Devil  in," 

if  its  position  may  be  allowed  any  practical  association  at 
all.  It  holds  up  its  anterior  tibiae  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  catching  and  destroying  flies,  caterpillars,  plant-lice,  and 
other  luckless  insects  who  may  come  within  the  reach  of  its 
forcep-like  fore  feet. 

These  insects,  according  to  the  observation  of  all  natural- 
ists, are  very  warlike,  voracious,  and,  did  our  limits  allow, 
we  should  quote  many  very  interesting  accounts  of  them 
from  the  works  of  that  eminent  German  entomologist, 
Koesel.  Like  Reaumure,  in  France,  he  was  occupied  the 
greatest  part  of  his  life  in  making  observations  concerning 
the  life,  habits,  manners,  use,  and  injury  of  insects;  and 
published  the  result  of  his  labors  in  four  volumes,  from 
1746  to  1761,  under  the  title  Insecten  Belustigungen — "En- 
tomological Amusements."  Koesel  was  born  in  Germany 
in  1705,  was  a  contemporary  of  Linnaeus,  Buffon,  Tourne- 
fort,  and  Jussieu.  In  the  early  part  of  his  life  he  practiced 
miniature  painting  in  Nuremberg,  but  afterward  devoted 
himself  entirely  to  the  representation  of  insects,  which  he 
drew  from  nature  with  uncommon  accuracy.  He  then 
wrote  his  valuable  and  classical  work  on  that  branch  of 
Natural  History,  and  illustrated  it  with  plates.  He  died 
in  1759. 

To  witness  the  warlike  disposition  and  cruelty  of  these 
soothsayers,  it  is  only  necessary  to  put  several  of  them  in  a 
box  together,  when  they  will  immediately  commence  fight- 
ing, furiously  striking  at  each  other  with  their  long  fore 
legs.  The  males  are  considerably  smaller  than  the  females, 
and  in  these  encounters  generally  fall  victims  to  the  vo- 


ORDER    III. STRAIGHT-AVINGED    INSECTS.  121 

racity  of  their  "  better  halves,"  who  cut  off  their  heads  and 
then  devour  their  whole  body  piecemeal. 

The  Chinese,  aware  of  their  cruel  and  warlike  propensi- 
ties, keep  these  insects  in  bamboo  cages,  and  exhibit  them 
as  prize-fighters,  as  is  done  with  fighting-cocks.  At  these 
exhibitions,  when  two  Soothsayers  are  placed  face  to  face, 
they  become  at  first  still  and  immovable;  but  after  they 
have  gazed  fixedly  at  each  other  for  a  while,  they  raise 
their  wings,  their  whole  body  begins  to  tremble,  they  be- 
come furious,  and  pounce  one  upon  the  other,  giving  blows 
with  their  long  fore  legs,  which  they  use  as  if  they  were 
swords,  and  fighting  as  fiercely  as  the  enraged  Hungarian 
hussars  in  the  last  war  with  Austria.  At  last  one  of  them 
yields,  and  the  conqueror  grasps  the  vanquished  one  and 
devours  him  by  pieces. 

The  eggs  of  the  Soothsayers,  in  the  autumn,  are  deposit- 
ed in  an  oval  mass  attached  to  the  twigs  of  some  creeping 
vines  near  its  base.  This  mass  is  inclosed  in  a  silk-like 
covering,  resembling  a  seed-pod,  which  contains  from  fifty 
to  one  hundred  eggs,  and  which  remains  in  this  condition 
during  the  winter,  like  the  cocoons  of  butterflies  and  moths. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  following  summer  the  larvae  issue 
from  these  eggs,  and  exactly  resemble  the  perfect  insect,  ex- 
cept in  being  destitute  of  wings.  If  these  are  kept  in  a 
glass  together,  they  will  soon  exhibit  the  warlike  disposi- 
tion of  their  parents,  and  devour  one  another,  unless,  they 
are  abundantly  fed  with  plant-lice,  of  Avhich  they  are  very 
fond.  On  this  account,  notwithstanding  their  fierce  and 
quarrelsome  disposition,  they  become  indisputably  useful  in 
destroying  noxious  insects. 

The  life  of  the  Soothsayer  continues  scarcely  two  seasons. 
It  is  hatched  at  the  end  of  spring,  becomes  perfect  in  the 
course  of  the  summer,  and  dies  generally  toward  the  end  of 
October. 

F 


122     "  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

The  Walking-stick  (Spectrum). 

The  Walking-sticks,  as  this  English  name  indicates, 
are  very  fantastically  formed.  They  are  straight  longi- 
tudinally, like  the  stem  of  a  pipe,  slender,  and  some  of  the 
tropical  species  are  more  than  a  foot  long.  They  ai'e  the 
largest  in  proportions  of  the  whole  class,  and,  on  account  of 
their  length,  may  be  considered  the  whales  among  insects. 

They  somewhat  resemble  the  Soothsayers,  but  their  fore 
legs  are  not  sabre-like,  nor  adapted  for  catching  insects. 
They  are  not  carnivorous  but  herbivorous,  and  are  destitute 
of  wings  ;  and  although  they  feed  on  plants,  they  are  not  in- 
jurious to  vegetation,  because  they  eat  principally  useless 
weeds  and  the  juices  which  issue  from  trees.  Their  an- 
tennae and  legs  are  very  long,  and  always  extended ;  and  as 
their  bodies  are  of  a  gray  or  yellowish  and  brown  color,  it 
is  often  difficult  to  discover  them,  or  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  branch  on  which  they  stand,  as  the  insect  is  often 
motionless,  with  the  legs  extended  in  a  straight  line  resem- 
bling the  lateral  twigs. 

In  my  excursions  I  have  never  met  the  Walking-stick 
farther  north  than  Maryland  and  Virginia,  where  I  have 
seen  them  in  great  quantities  in  the  month  of  September, 
cither  standing  motionless  on  the  twigs  of  trees  or  on  the 
rails  of  fences.  At  my  approach  they  invariably  took  the 
opposite  side  of  the  twig  or  rail,  in  order  to  evade  observa- 
tion. The  Hon.  Prescott  Hall,  of  New  York,  however,  re- 
cently informed  me  that  he  has  observed  them  abundantly 
at  his  summer  residence  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island. 

The  late  Thomas  Say  held  the  same  opinion  that  I  did, 
and  believed  this  animal  to  be  only  indigenous  in  the  South- 
em  States,  until  he  was  corrected  in  this  respect  by  Mr. 
Charles  Pickering,  of  Salem,  Massachusetts,  who  informed 
him  that  he  had  obtained  one  near  that  city. 

These  insects  are  mostly  all  exotic,  and,  according  to 


ORDER    III. STRAIGHT-WINGED    INSECTS.  123 

Westwood,  there  arc  found  in  the  south  of  Europe  three 
species ;  in  South  America,  twenty  species ;  in  North 
America,  three  species ;  in  Asia,  forty  species ;  in  Austra- 
lia, twenty-seven  species ;  and  in  Africa,  two  species. 

IVIi".  Say,  in  his  American  Entomology,  has  given  a  good 
illustration  of  the  Spectrum  femoratum,  in  plate  37,  and  of 
the  Spectrum  vittatum,  in  plate  38,  to  which  I  refer  the 
reader. 
■''  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  death  has  taken  from  us 
this  highly  distinguished  American  naturalist;  but  his 
works  are  left  behind  him,  and  will  insure  him  long  re- 
membrance among  all  lovers  of  Science  and  Nature.  Mr. 
Say  accompanied  Major  Long  in  his  exploring  expedition 
to  the  Kocky  Mountains  many  years  ago,  and  afterward 
traveled  with  Mr.  M'Clure  through  Florida  and  other  coun- 
tries. He  published  his  American  Entomology  in  1824,  in 
three  volumes,  with  fifty-four  very-well  executed  colored 
plates,  and  is  the  author  of  a  great  number  of  valuable  ar- 
ticles contained  in  the  Transactions  of  several  of  the  learned 
societies  of  the  Union.  Thomas  Say  was  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  Curator  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  Professor  of  Natural  History  in  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  of  Zoology  in  the  Philadelphia  Museum. 


ORDER  IV. 

MOTHS  AND  BUTTEUFLIES—C^LEPIBOPTEBA). 

Figure  26. 


Caterpillar  of  the  Saturnia  lo. 

We  now  approach  the  most  beautiful  and,  to  the  gener- 
ality of  people,  the  most  interesting  department  of  Ento- 
mology. The  splendor  and  variety  of  the  insects  of  this 
order  has  never  failed  to  attract  attention,  and  with  all  lov- 
ers of  nature  nothing  more  readily  or  more  universally  ex- 
cites the  mingled  emotions  of  pleasure  and  astonishment 
than  the  careful  examination  of  a  rich  collection  of  JMoths 
and  Butterflies.  The  endless  diversification  of  colors,  which 
are  distributed  in  different  forms  upon  the  bodies  and  wings 
of  lepidopterous  insects,  and  even  upon  the  bodies  of  cater- 
pillars, some  in  lines,  others  in  circles,  or  eyes,  or  hiero- 
glyphics, or  letters,  and  all  in  ever-varying  shape  and  hue, 
can  not  fail  to  excite  our  admiration,  and  impress  upon  us 
the  conviction  that  even  the  most  diminutive  creations  bear 
the  same  stamp  of  pleasing  and  infinite  variety  which  per- 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      125 

varies  the  universe.  Of  all  the  glittering  orbs  that  roll  in 
endless  space,  probably  no  two  ai-e  alike  in  substance  or  liv- 
ing contents.  So,  of  all  the  myriads  of  living  creatures  with 
which  the  earth  has  swarmed  since  the  animating  Spirit  first 
breathed  upon  chaos,  no  two  can  be  said  to  be  precisely 
alike ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  so  inevitable  is  the  law  of  va- 
riation with  regard  to  all  the  operations  of  nature  or  art, 
that  all  similarity  is  rather  relative  than  real.  The  animal, 
the  vegetable,  and  the  mineral  kingdoms  in  all  their  devel- 
opments, show  the  same  endless  diversification.  In  the  hu- 
man family,  even,  the  highest  and  most  perfect  of  animals, 
we  see  multitudes  of  different  forms  and  colors,  of  languages, 
and  manners  and  customs.  "We  find  an  immense  vai'iety  of 
beasts  and  birds,  reptiles,  fishes,  and  insects ;  and  the  same 
of  plants,  trees,  and  shrubs,  as  well  as  of  all  the  mineral 
productions.  And  yet  we  find  all  these  different  varieties 
of  the  three  natural  kingdoms  united  under  one  general  law ; 
all  dependent  upon  one  another,  as  component  parts  of  one 
great  universal  whole,  and  we  are  forced,  with  the  great 
philosopher,  Humboldt,  to  exclaim,  "Nature  is  the  unity 
in  variety." 

Moths  and  Butterflies,  in  comparison  with  the  other  or- 
ders of  insects,  are  well  entitled  to  the  rank  of  nobility,  for 
among  them  we  find  no  impudent  beggars  and  spongers,  as 
among  the  flies  ;  no  parasites,  as  in  some  of  the  wingless  in- 
sects ;  no  working  class,  as  among  the  hymenopterous  in- 
sects, bees,  wasps,  ants,  and  gall-flies ;  no  musicians,  as 
among  the  families  of  Crickets,  Grasshoppers,  Katydids, 
and  Cicadas ;  but  all  of  them  are  aristocratic  idlers,  who, 
clothed  with  silver,  and  gold,  and  purple,  and  ornamented 
with  ever-varying  splendor,  have  naught  to  do  but  to  seek 
their  own  pleasure,  and  charm  away  their  brief  existence 
fluttering  from  bough  to  bough,  and  satiating  themselves 
with  the  sweet  nectar  of  flowers. 

And,  indeed,  whether  we  look  at  them  in  their  infancy 


126  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

as  caterpillars,  or  in  the  state  of  chrysalis,  or  in  their  per- 
fect condition,  they  are  always  more  beautiful  and  more  in- 
teresting than  all  other  insects,  and  attract  more  of  our  at- 
tention ;  when  in  the  state  of  caterpillar,  on  account  of  the 
injury  they  do  to  vegetation,  and  when  in  their  perfect  form, 
on  account  of  their  splendor  and  variety. 

Moths  and  Butterflies  are  distinguished  from  other  in- 
sects by  having  four  expanded  wings,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
covered  with  colored  scales,  and  hairy  bodies.  They  arc 
oviparous  animals,  and,  under  the  guidance  of  their  instinct, 
lay  their  eggs  upon  those  plants  which  are  best  adapted  for 
sustaining  their  future  progeny.  From  these  eggs  proceed 
the  caterpillars  (larvae),  many  of  which  are  so  voracious 
that  they  consume  more  than  twice  their  own  weight  in 
twenty-four  hours.  We  may  congratulate  ourselves  that 
they  are  so  small,  and  that  we  and  our  domestic  animals 
are  more  moderate  in  our  appetites  ;  for  if  a  man  weighing 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  consumed  every  day  three  hun- 
dred pounds  of  food,  or  an  ox  weighing  four  hundred  pounds 
devoured  daily  eight  hundred  pounds  of  grass,  our  terres- 
trial globe  could  not,  in  its  present  condition  and  extent  at 
least,  produce  sufficient  nourishment  to  sustain  us  or  them. 

After  it  has  attained  its  full  growth  the  caterpillar  stops 
eating,  casts  its  skin,  and  becomes  a  chiysalis  or  cocoon 
(pupa).  Some  suspend  their  cocoons  from  the  bi-anch  of  a 
tree,  as,  for  instance,  the  Asterias ;  others  bury  themselves 
in  the  ground,  as  do  all  the  Hawk-moths,  and  in  this  con- 
dition remain  throughout  the  cold  winter  season.  Thus 
the  chrysalis  passes  its  life  in  a  state  of  torpor,  without  eat- 
ing or  moving,  until,  after  a  shorter  or  longer  period,  it 
bursts  its  skin,  and  the  perfect  butterfly  or  moth  issues,  no 
more  to  injure  vegetation,  because  it  has  exchanged  its 
mouth  for  a  spirally  rolled  tongue,  with  which  it  can  only 
suck  the  juices  of  plants  and  flowers. 

In  this  metamorphosis  some  very  great  changes  occur  in 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      127 

the  appearance  and  beauty  of  the  insect,  as  well  as  in  its 
form  and  structure.  Some  of  the  handsomest  caterpillai's 
issue  from  their  cocoons  the  plainest,  even  the  ugliest  look- 
ing butterflies,  and  vice  versa.  Thus  the  potato-worm  is 
remarkable  for  its  beautifully  variegated  colors,  but  when 
it  becomes  adult  as  a  haAvk-moth  it  has  a  uniform  dingy 
gray  color.  But  the  contrary  is  often  the  case,  and  an  in- 
significant-looking caterpillar  is  as  often  metamorphosed 
into  a  very  handsome  butterfly. 

Such  changes,  however,  are  not  confined  to  insects,  but 
are  also  common  throughout  the  animal  kingdom,  as  well 
in  the  highest  as  the  lowest  classes,  and  would  seem  to  be 
something  more  than  a  mere  freak  of  nature. 

But  the  metamorphosis  of  Butterflies  and  Moths  has  al- 
ways been  a  subject  of  interesting  contemplation  and  of 
profound  analogical  reasoning,  and  has  ever  been  considered 
the  true  type  of  man's  existence  here,  and  his  brighter  and 
happier  life  hereafter.  In  the  most  ancient  times  it  prob- 
ably gave  origin  and  strength  to  the  belief  in  the  transmi- 
gration of  souls,  metempschycosis,  as  also  to  a  thousand 
fabulous  stories  and  faiiy  tales,  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
annual  casting  of  tlie  skin  of  snakes,  by  which  pi'ocess  that 
reptile  appears  every  spring  in  a  new  dress  of  bright  and 
glittering  colors,  has  given  rise,  even  in  the  remotest  antiq- 
uity, to  the  idea  of  regeneration  and  endless  life  hereafter. 

Caterpillars,  notwithstanding  their  beauty,  are  very  gen- 
erally disliked  on  account  of  the  immense  injury  they  do  to 
vegetation ;  but  the  prevailing  prejudice  against  them,  in 
my  opinion,  arises  more  from  the  general  ignorance  of  their 
uses,  and  the  benefit  they  are  capable  of  conferi'ing  upon 
man,  than  upon  the  actual  amount  of  damage  done  by  them. 
We  will  mention  some  of  their  uses,  and  again  endeavor  to 
convince  our  readers  that  none  of  the  works  of  nature  are 
so  insignificant  as  to  be  wholly  without  use  in  the  great 
plan  of  economy. 


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128  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Caterpillars  very  often  inform  us  as  to  the  properties  of 
the  plants  upon  which  they  feed ;  thus  the  Fotato-worm 
{Sphinx  Carolina)  feeds  only  upon  the  different  species  of  the 
night-shade  tribe  (Solanea") ;  for  instance,  on  the  egg-plant, 
the  potato  and  tomato-vine,  etc. ;  the  Asterias  (Papilio  as- 
terias)  lives  upon  the  leaves  of  the  umbrella  tribe  (  Umbelli- 
ferce),  as  the  parsnep,  cicuta,  parsley,  caraway,  anise,  cel- 
ery, etc. ;  and  the  Danaus  (Danaus  plexij^j^tis)  feeds  only 
upon  the  different  species  of  milk-weed. 

The  excrement  of  caterpillars  furnishes  an  excellent  dye- 
stuff,  and  their  bodies  the  finest  of  varnish.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  body  of  each  caterpillar  is  provided  with  a 
glutinous  substance,  by  which  they  ai'e  enabled  to  manu- 
facture their  cocoons ;  and  to  obtain  this  they  are  collected 
in  many  countries  in  large  quantities,  and  boiled  in  water 
until  a  greasy  liquor  is  seen  floating  upon  the  surface. 
This  oleaginous  substance  is  skimmed  off,  and  proves  a 
valuable  varnish.  It  is  said  that  the  Japanese  use  this  to  ^ 
varnish  their  finest  fancy  articles.  ^ 

Raising  caterpillars  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  from 
them  perfect  butterflies  or  moths  is  not  only  an  agreeable 
and  instructive  operation  for  young  pupils  in  their  leisure 
hours,  but  it  has  often  been  a  very  lucrative  business.  In 
Altona,  in  Denmark,  I  became  acquainted  with  a  gentle- 
man who  raised  in  his  conservatory  several  species  of  the 
large  moths,  natives  of  North  America — as  the  Cecropia, 
Luna,  Polyphemus,  and  Promethea — which  he  sold  readily 
at  two  dollars  apiece,  and  of  which  he  raised  on  an  average 
a  thousand  specimens  a  year. 

Caterpillars  are  of  quite  an  important  use  to  man  as  the 
principal  food  of  birds,  and  the  amount  of  good  they  do  in 
yielding  up  their  lives  as  nourishment  for  others  would  as- 
tonish one  unaccustomed  to  reflect  upon  the  subject,  and 
really  goes  far  toward  compensating  the  injury  they  do  to 
vegetation.      There  are  at  least  1200  species  of  lepidop- 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      129 

terous  insects  in  existence  in  this  country,  and  as  each  fe- 
male lays  on  an  average  300  eggs,  half  their  number, 
viz.,  6000  females,  will  produce  1,800,000  caterpillars;  in 
the  second  generation,  180,000,000 ;  and  in  the  third, 
27,000,000,000. 

If  such  an  immense  multiplication  of  so  voracious  an 
animal  were  to  be  continued  without  any  check,  man  and 
beast  would  soon  be  destroyed  by  starvation ;  but  it  is  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  designs  of  Nature  that  these  should 
increase  immensely  for  the  very  purpose  of  furnishing  suffi- 
cient nourishment  for  the  birds  and  other  winged  animals 
which  make  them  their  principal  food.  It  is  ascertained 
that  a  single  robin  or  woodpecker,  and  many  others  of  the 
warblers,  carry  every  day  about  fifty  grubs  or  caterpillars 
lo  their  nests  as  food  for  themselves  and  their  young. 

Now  if  there  were  only  one  million  of  these  birds,  of 
which  each  one  devours  6000  caterpillars  during  the  months 
of  April,  May,  June,  and  July,  by  no  means  a  large  com- 
putation, the  number  of  caterpillars  and  grubs  thus  de- 
stroyed will  amount  to  6,000,000,000  annually. 

/Caterpillars  are,  therefore,  of  great  use  to  "us  in  furnish- 
ing so  abundant  food  and  nourishment  for  the  birds,  which 
enliven  and  embellish  the  country  with  their  happy  songs 
and  their  beautiful  plumage,  and  which  themselves  supply 
us  with  a  palatable  and  delicious  article  of  food. 

Caterpillars  are  also  destroyed  by  various  kinds  of  vein- 
winged  insects,  principally  by  different  species  of  the  Ich- 
neumon fly,  which  with  her  ovipositor  thrusts  one  or  sever- 
al eggs  into  the  body  of  the  caterpillar,  upon  the  flesh  of 
which  the  maggots  of  these  flies  subsist,  until  they  come  out 
as  perfect  flies,  of  course  destroying  the  larvaj  upon  which 
they  feed.  We  can  often  see  this  process  carried  on  upon 
the  body  of  a  potato-worm,  when  it  is  full  grown,  and  just 
ready  to  change  into  a  cocoon.  It  will  be  completely  cov- 
ered with  many  hundred  minute  white  silk-like  bodies,  which 

F2 


130  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

look  like  grains  of  rice,  but  which  are  nothing  but  the  co- 
coons of  small  Ichneumon  flies,  which  have  been  raised  in 
the  body  of  that  caterpillar,  and  work  themselves  out  of  its 
skin  when  ready  for  their  own  metamorphosis  into  a  co- 
coon. This  change  takes  place  very  rapidly,  and  then  they 
fall  to  the  ground  to  await  their  final  transformation  into 
a  perfect  Ichneumon. 

Lastly,  caterpillars  are  not  only  indirectly  useful  to  man, 
but  they  are  directly  of  the  greatest  importance  to  him; 
they  not  only  indirectly  furnish  him  with  palatable  food, 
but  they  directly  supply  him  Avith  his  costliest  and  most 
beautiful  apparel.  What  a  rebuke  for  human  pride !  The 
gaudy  and  spangled  robes  that  deck  earth's  greatest  po- 
tentates are  originally  woven  by  the  despised  worm  that 
crawls  beneath  their  feet !  What  a  profound  lesson  in  the 
economy  of  nature,  and  how  striking  an  illustration  of  the 
dependence  of  all  created  things !  An  apparently  insignifi- 
cant caterpillar  becomes  one  of  the  most  important  articles 
in  the  manufacture  and  commerce  of  the  world.  An  infant 
butterfly  weaves  its  own  beautiful  colors  into  a  texture  that 
becomes  not  only  the  splendid  and  appropriate  ornament 
of  female  beauty,  but  also  the  insignia  of  ofiice,  rank,  and 
power.  The  academic  gown,  the  priestly  vestments,  and 
the  monarch's  royal  robes  were  all  once  inclosed  within  the 
cocoon  of  a  silk-worm. 

This  caterpillar  is  the  most  renowned  and  the  most  prof- 
itable of  all,  and  is  extensively  cultivated  in  France,  Italy, 
Greece,  Turkey,  Persia,  China,  and  Transcaucassia,*  and 
might  as  well  be  cultivated  in  this  country,  if  the  importa- 
tion of  foreign  silk  and  the  tarifi"  did  not  operate  against 
this  branch  of  industry.  We  have,  however,  quite  a  num- 
ber of  Moths,  indigenous  to  this  country,  the  cocoons  of 
which  might  also  furnish  a  very  valuable,  strong,  and  ex- 

*  See  B.  Jaeger's  Versuch  einer  Darstellung  des  naturlicher  Reick- 
thmns  der  russisr.hen  Lander  jenseits  des  Caucasus.     Leipzig,  1830. 


ORDER    IV. AIOTHS    AND    BUTTERFLIES.  131 

cellent  silk,  and  of  which  extensive  use  will  probably  be 
made  as  soon  as  the  young  giant  of  North  America  arrives 
at  maturer  age.  Of  these  I  shall  speak  at  length  in  some 
of  the  following  pages. 

Various  kinds  of  apparatus  have  been  invented  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  caterpillars,  and  the  simplest  kind  are 
boxes,  the  bottom  of  Avhich  is  covered  with  earth,  and  the 
top  with  gauze,  so  as  to  admit  of  fresh  air  at  all  times.  In 
some  places  large  cages,  like  those  for  birds,  are  used, 
which  are  also  covered  with  gauze,  and  in  Avhich  are  placed 
the  different  plants  upon  which  the  caterpillars  feed.  This 
is  a  very  convenient  contrivance  for  observing  their  mode 
of  living,  the  casting  of  their  skins,  and  their  metamorph- 
oses, as  also  for  obtaining  handsome  and  perfect  specimens 
for  the  cabinet.  They  may  be  raised,  however,  in  the  same 
manner  as  silk-worms  ai'e  generally  raised,  and  which  we 
shall  presently  describe. 

As  soon  as  the  cold  of  autumn  deprives  the  trees  and 
shrubs  of  their  foliage  all  caterpillars  disappear,  either 
metamorphosing  themselves  into  cocoons,  or,  if  not  yet 
ready  for  such  a  change,  concealing  themselves  under  the 
ground.  In  the  following  spring,  as  soon  as  the  new  leaves 
appear  on  the  trees,  they  come  out  from  their  caverns  in  the 
hollow  trees  or  the  crevices  of  the  rocks,  and  with  a  host  of 
new  ones  that  issue  from  the  eggs  which  were  deposited  in 
the  previous  autumn,  they  commence  their  ravages,  devour- 
ing all  the  new  leaves  and  shoots  within  their  reach. 

After  the  caterpillars  have  cast  their  skin  several  times 
and  are  full  grown,  they  metamorphose  themselves  into  an 
immovable  cocoon  {chrysalis,  aurelia,  2'>yp(i),  which  eats  no 
more,  and  under  the  horny  skin  of  which  may  almost  al- 
ways be  recognized  the  wings  and  other  members  of  the 
future  Butterfly  or  IMoth.  Many  of  these  come  out  after  a 
few  weeks,  during  the  summer,  again  lay  their  eggs,  from 
which  proceed  other  caterpillars,  which   latter  generally 


132  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

pass  the  winter  as  cocoons,  exposed  to  rain,  snow,  and  the 
severest  cold  without  the  least  injury. 

A  few  Butterflies,  however,  are  not  unfrequently  seen  on 
warm  sunny  days  in  the  middle  of  winter ;  as,  for  instance, 
the  Thistle  Butterfly  (Vanessa  cardui),  or  the  Mourner's 
Mantle  {Vanessa  Antiope).  These  individuals  came  out 
from  their  cocoons  late  in  the  fall,  and  made  their  winter- 
jparters  in  hollow  trees. 

As  the  habits  and  mode  of  life  of  Moths  and  Butterflies, 
and  even  their  forms  and  organs  are  quite  uniform,  while 
on  the  contrary  those  of  their  caterpillars  are  very  manifold 
and  diverse,  the  careful  observation  of  the  latter  seems  to 
ofier  greater  satisfaction  to  our  curiosity,  and  I  deem  it  im- 
portant to  speak  more  at  length  concerning  them. 

Caterpillars  have  two  kinds  of  feet,  viz. :  three  pairs  of 
horny  ones  under  the  neck,  and  a  number  of  fleshy  ones  un- 
der the  remaining  parts  of  their  body.  The  greatest  part 
of  these  insects  have  eight  pairs  of  feet,  some  genera  seven, 
others  six,  and  others  only  five,  or  even  four  pairs  of  feet. 
Those  that  have  eight  pairs  of  feet  walk  very  slowly  and 
uniformly  on  the  ground,  but  all  that  have  less  than  that 
number  walk  differently ;  they  can  not  progress  with  their 
Ijody  extended  horizontally,  but  when  creeping  forward 
form  an  arch  with  the  middle  part  of  the  body,  which  is 
destitvite  of  legs,  by  approaching  their  hind  feet  to  those  of 
the  thorax,  and  then  advancing  with  the  forepart  of  the 
body  in  the  same  manner  as  we  move  the  hand  when  meas- 
uring a  span  with  the  thumb  and  forefinger.  On  this  ac- 
count these  caterpillars  have  been  called  by  the  common  peo- 
ple tailors,  and  by  others  georaetra^,  or  surveyors.  Those 
caterpillars  which  have  only  four  pairs  of  feet  are  able  to 
stand  erect  on  their  hind  feet  for  hours,  forming  an  acute  or 
a  right  angle,  and  in  this  motionless  position  resembling  a 
little  twig  of  the  shrub  or  tree  upon  which  they  are  standing. 

Caterpillai's  are  generally  covered  with  very  handsome 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.     133 

colors,  and  even  the  plainest  looking  will  appear  handsome 
upon  a  close  examination  with  a  magnifying  glass.  The 
size  of  their  bodies  vai'ies  very  much  in  proportion  to  the 
size  of  the  perfect  insect,  and  their  exterior  surface  is  either 
smooth,  as  that  of  the  Astei'ias  on  the  parsnep  (Fig.  29),  or 
that  of  the  Danaus  on  the  milk-weed,  or  it  is  hairy  like  that 
of  the  Saturnia  (Fig.  2C)  on  Indian  corn  and  other  grasses. 

The  food  of  catei'pillars,  with  a  few  exceptions,  is  taken 
from  the  vegetable  kingdom.  Some  feed  exclusively  on  one 
species  of  plant,  as  the  silk-worm  on  the  white  mulberry ; 
others  on  all  the  species  of  one  genus,  as  the  potato  worm 
on  the  tomato,  potato,  etc. ;  others  cat  any  kind  of  vege- 
table, as  the  woolly-bear  (Arctia).  The  periods  of  taking 
their  meals  is  also  different ;  some  eat  only  in  the  morning 
and  evening ;  others  during  the  whole  day ;  and  others  only 
at  night,  while  they  conceal  themselves  during  the  day,  and 
their  depredations  only  are  visible.  But  if  by  night  we  ex- 
amine our  cabbage,  cauliflowers,  and  turnips  witli  a  lan- 
tern, we  shall  often  find  them  covered  with  a  host  of  these 
noxious  individuals. 

Many  of  the  caterpillars  live  like  hermits,  a  solitary  life, 
and  pay  no  attention  to  their  brothers  and  sisters ;  while,  on 
the  contrary,  many  species  are  real  socialists,  and  build  in 
common  their  comfortable  silk  dwellings,  with  which,  if  not 
prevented  by  man,  they  sometimes  cover  entire  trees.  Here 
they  live,  and  feed  together  at  regular  hours ;  as,  for  in- 
stance, the  Tent  Caterpillar  {CUsiocampo  Americana,  Har- 
ris) on  apple,  pear,  or  cherry  trees,  and  by  such  confrater- 
nities the  trees  of  an  entire  orchard  are  ruined,  unless  the 
destructive  intruders  are  destroyed  in  April  or  the  begin- 
ning of  May. 

Single  parts  of  Caterjnllars. 

Head. — The  head  of  a  caterpillar  is  horny,  of  a  globular 
or  oblong  form :  it  contains  a  mouth  with  an  upper  and 


134  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

under  lip,  between  which  are  sharp,  horny  jaws,  with  which 
they  cut  transversely  the  leaves,  beginning  at  the  margin. 
They  cut  with  their  jaws  as  easily  and  in  the  same  manner 
as  we  do  with  scissors. 

Although  we  can  not  distinguish  in  them  any  organ  of 
vision,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  they  are  provided  with 
eyes ;  for  if  we  examine  them  with  a  magnifying  glass  we 
discover  on  each  side  of  the  head  six  black  spots  in  a  circle, 
which  seem  to  answer  the  organ  of  sight ;  and  if  we  ap- 
proach them  in  the  night  with  a  light,  they  immediately 
begin  to  move,  which  shows  that  they  must  have  some 
means  of  being  affected  by  the  light.  Besides,  their  mo- 
tions in  various  voluntaiy  directions  testify  much  in  favor 
of  such  an  opinion,  although  it  is  possible  that  these  may 
be  detected  by  their  exquisite  sense  of  smell. 

There  is  no  caterpillar  which  does  not  spin  a  web  of 
some  kind,  by  issuing  a  thread  from  a  fleshy  point  of  the 
under  lip. 

Body. — The  body  of  a  caterpillar  consists  of  twelve 
ringlets,  upon  nine  of  which,  on  each  side  of  the  ventral 
portion  of  the  body,  is  seen  an  oval  spot,  surrounded  some- 
times with  a  red  or  yellow  ring.  These  oval  spots  are  the 
respii'atory  organs  by  which  the  insect  breathes.  That 
these  are  the  real  respiratory  organs  is  proved  by  putting 
oil  or  any  greasy  substance  over  these  air-holes,  the  conse- 
quence of  which  viall  be  immediate  death  by  suffocation. 
Moreover,  if  a  caterpillar  is  put  under  water  or  alcohol, 
air-bubbles  will  be  seen  issuing  from  innumerable  minute 
holes  in  all  parts  of  its  body ;  and  when  the  skin  is  taken 
off  from  the  insect  and  held  up  against  the  light,  the  holes 
may  be  distinctly  recognized,  and  the  whole  skin  will  ap- 
pear as  if  it  were  perforated  with  an  immense  number  of 
fine  pricks. 

Inside  of  the  body,  every  caterpillar  has  a  stomach,  a 
heart,  an  intestine,  and  two  long  serpentine  organs,  which  ex- 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES. 


135 


tend  to  the  hind  part  of  the  body,  and  thence  back  to  the 
neck,  where  they  open  at  the  inferior  lip.  Those  tubes  con- 
tain the  substance  which  the  animal  uses  in  spinning,  which 
is  a  yellow  or  white  juice,  according  to  the  food  it  takes, 
and  upon  this  also  probably  depends  the  fineness  of  the  silk 
they  make,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  quality  and  color  of 
butter  depends  upon  the  food  of  the  cow. 

These  tubes  joining  together  and  opening  at  the  under 
lip,  constitute  the  spinning  apparatus  of  caterpillars,  and 
may  be  distinctly  seen  by  opening  with  great  care  and  cau- 
tion the  back  of  the  animal.  The  juice  contained  in  the 
tubes  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  kind  of  very  fine  var- 
nish, of  which  the  people  of  some  countries  make  use,  but 
which  no  one  has  yet  undertaken  to  use  in  this  country. 
Should  this  varnish  ever  come  into  general  use,  our  most 
noxious  caterpillars  would  become  beneficial  to  us. 

Fisriire  27. 


Saturnia  lo. — Male. 

The  single  parts  of  Moths  and  Butterflies,  although  not 
quite  as  varied  and  complex  as  those  of  caterpillars,  still 
present  some  points  of  interest  and  curiosity,  and  far  excel 
them  in  beauty  and  splendor. 

The  four  wings  of  Moths  and  Butterflies  differ  from  those 
of  other  insects,  by  being  covered  with  a  kind  of  dust,  which 
produces  the  handsome  colors,  and  which,  when  touched, 
sticks  to  the  fingers.     Under  the  microscope,  it  is  seen  that 


136 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


this  dust  has  regular  forms,  and  consists  of  horny  scales, 
fastened  in  the  wings.  From  this  circumstance  the  order 
of  entomology  comprising  Moths  and  Butterflies  is  called 
Lepidoptera,  which  signifies  in  English  "  Scale- winged." 

The  head  of  these  insects  is  provided  with  two  large  glob- 
ular eyes,  covered  with  a  horny  skin,  which  under  the  mag- 
nifying glass  looks  like  a  net-work,  consisting  of  a  number 
of  elevated  points  or  convexities,  of  which  each  one  may, 
perhaps,  be  considered  a  single  eye.  This  horny  skin  is 
transparent,  and  when  taken  oflf  and  looked  through,  for 
instance,  at  one  man,  there  are  presented  to  us  a  whole 
army  of  Liliputians.  But  in  spite  of  this  multifarious  vi- 
sion, the  insect  probably  sees  only  that  object  which  is  in  the 
direct  angle  of  vision,  or  which  is  in  a  straight  line  with  its 
point  of  sight. 

Figure  28. 


Satumia  lo. — Female. 


On  the  upper  part  of  the  head,  between  the  eyes,  are 
seen  two  thread-like  filaments,  called  "  feelers,"  antenna?, 
as  in  the  Satumia  lo  (Figs.  27  and  28),  and  in  the  Asterim 
(Fig.  30).     The  use  of  these  organs  has  not  yet  been  exactly 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      137 

ascertained.  Some  naturalists  think  that  these  feelers  serve 
to  protect  the  eyes,  but  the  more  rational  opinion  prevails 
that  the  antennte,  with  which  all  insects  are  provided,  are 
probably  the  organs  of  hearing.  They  are  hollow,  provided 
vfith  muscles,  and  placed  on  each  side  of  the  head,  like  the 
ears  of  beasts,  reptiles,  and  fishes. 

The  use  of  the  proboscis  is  much  better  known :  it  is  a 
spiral  tongue,  formed  to  coil  up  like  the  spring  of  a  watch, 
and  it  is  by  means  of  this  organ  that  the  insect  is  enabled 
to  pump  out  the  juice  of  flowers.  This  spiral  tongue,  which 
answers  the  purpose  of  a  mouth,  is  placed  between  the  eyes, 
and  consists  of  two  lateral  halves  which  are  closely  united, 
and  which  form  a  hollow  tube  like  the  proboscis  of  an  ele- 
phant. Its  length  varies  considerably  in  the  different  spe- 
cies of  butterfly.  We  find  the  longest  ones  in  the  Hawk- 
moths  ;  but  a  few  species  have  none  at  all,  as  the  silk- worms, 
for  many  live  as  perfect  insects  only  a  few  days,  and  can 
get  along  without  the  trouble  of  procuring  food. 

I  have  often  amused  myself  with  experiments  upon  the 
Hawk-moths  and  Butterflies  which  were  hatched  in  a  warm 
room  as  early  as  the  month  of  March.  I  have  fed  them 
with  sugar,  holding  the  insect  in  my  fingers  by  the  wings, 
and  have  seen  them  seize  the  piece  of  sugar  with  their  fore 
feet  and,  thus  holding  it,  unfold  their  proboscis,  and  with  its 
saliva  moistening  the  sugar,  then  sucking  the  juice,  which 
could  easily  be  perceived  ascending  the  trunk.  This  is  an 
experiment  which  every  one  can  make  at  pleasure. 

From  the  most  ancient  times  it  has  been  observed  that 
some  lepidoptera  make  their  excursions  only  during  the 
night,  and  conceal  themselves  during  the  day  ;  while  others 
are  seen  flying  about  only  in  the  daytime,  and  conceal 
themselves  at  night.  The  former  are  called  Nocturnal 
Lepidoptera,  as  Moths,  Millers,  Hawk-moths,  etc.,  which 
are  recognized  by  their  having  antennce  without  a  knob  at 
the  end,  e.  g.,  the  Saturnia  lo  (Figs.  27  and  28). 


138 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


These  insects  are  rarely  seen  by  day,  being  concealed  on 
or  under  fences,  or  houses,  or  under  the  leaves  of  trees  and 
bushes,  and  you  have  only  to  strike  upon  a  bush  with  your 
walking-stick,  or  parasol  (for  I  write  also  for  the  young 
ladies),  when  a  swarm  of  these  insects  will  sometimes  fly 
out  of  it,  and  be  easily  caught  in  a  net.  As  soon,  however, 
as  night  sets  in,  their  airy  promenades  begin,  and  unless 
snapped  away  by  the  cruel  whip-poor-will,  or  a  voracious 
bat,  or  burned  alive  by  the  flame  of  some  candle,  they  con- 
tinue flying  about  all  night. 

It  is  very  singular  that  nocturnal  insects,  which  conceal 
themselves  from  the  daylight,  are  so  apt  to  fly  toward  a 
light  in  the  night.  But  such  is  the  fact,  as  almost  all  can 
testify  who  have  seen  them  flying  around  a  light  in  a  warm 
summer  evening,  when  the  windows  are  open,  until  they 
disabled  themselves,  so  that  they  could  not  fly.  This  is  an- 
other way  of  catching  these  insects ;  and  still  another  is  to 
spread  a  white  sheet  over  the  turf  of  your  garden  in  a  warm 
summer  evening,  and  set  a  lantern  in  the  midst  of  it :  nu- 
merous swarms  of  guests  of  all  shapes  and  colors  will  im- 
mediately appear  upon  it.  / 


Fiprure  29. 


Caterpillar  of  the  Asterias, 


But  if  we  examine  these  insects,  which  are  so  much  at- 
tracted by  the  light,  we  find  the  greatest  part  of  them 
males.  Hence  the  celebrated  and  ingenious  Professor 
Oken  thinks  that  the  females  of  the  nocturnal  lepidoptera 


ORDER    IV. MOTHS    AND   BUTTERFLIEfc?. 


139 


may,  perhaps,  be  provided  by  nature  with  some  luminous 
spots,  visible  only  to  their  males,  but  not  to  man. 

The  Diurnal  Lepidoptera,  called  Butterflies,  are  seen 
flying  only  during  the  daytime,  and  are  distinguished  from 
the  preceding  ones  by  having  a  knob  at  the  extremity  of 
each  antenna ;  as,  for  example,  the  Asterias  butterfly  {Pa- 
pilio  asterias),  Fig.  30.     Of  these  we  shall  speak  again. 


The  Asterias  Butterfly. 


Of  Nocturnal  Lepidoptera. 

The  romantic  imagination  of  naturalists  has  often  taken 
from  ancient  mythology  the  names  of  gods  and  goddesses, 
or  of  fabulous  heroes  and  heroines,  with  which  to  distin- 
guish the  most  splendid  of  the  lepidopterous  insects.  Thus 
we  have  among  them  an  Apollo,  Mars,  Cybele,  Iris,  Atro- 
pos,  Ulysses,  Ajax,  Nestor,  etc.  This  was -the  case  with 
the  first  Nocturnal  Moth  of  which  I  shall  speak. 

In  the  months  of  June  and  July,  if  we  look  on  the  dog- 


140  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

woods,  elms,  sassafras,  or  poplars,  we  find  upon  their  leaves 
a  number  of  small  pale-green  caterpillars,  covered  with 
clusters  of  light-green  short  prickles,  and  having  a  brown 
and  white  longitudinal  stripe  on  both  sides  of  the  lower 
ventral  part  of  the  body,  and  extending  from  the  head  to 
the  abdomen.  These  caterpillars  live  together  very  socia- 
bly during  their  infancy,  but  disperse  at  mature  age,  and 
travel  about  through  meadows  and  gardens,  where  they  are 
often  found  upon  the  leaves  of  clover,  Indian  corn,  and 
other  grass-like  plants,  upon  which  they  feed. 

One  of  these  caterpillars  is  represented  in  Fig.  26,  and 
when  full  grown  is  more  than  two  inches  long.  Its  fine 
colors  attract  many  a  young  person,  who  soon  finds  himself 
affected  to  tears  by  the  sharp  pains  of  its  prickles,  which 
sting  like  nettles. 

It  is  easy  to  raise  these  caterpillars,  as  their  food  can  so 
easily  be  procured,  consisting  of  elm  and  poplar  leaves,  or 
any  kind  of  gi'ass.  After  having  cast  their  skin  four  times, 
and  when  they  are  about  seven  or  eight  weeks  old,  each 
one  looks  out  for  a  large  leaf  on  the  ground,  the  margins 
of  which  it  fastens  together  in  an  irregular  form,  then  lines 
the  inside  with  gum,  in  order  to  make  the  cocoon  stiff  and 
impenetrable  to  the  inclemency  of  the  severest  weather.  In 
this  condition  the  chrysalis  remains  through  the  whole  win- 
ter and  until  the  following  summer,  when  they  awake  by 
the  spiritual  rapping  of  the  warm  element,  rise  from  their 
graves  clad  in  an  orange  and  purple  dress,  and  ascend  to- 
ward the  sky  as  perfect  moths. 

This  Nocturnal  Lepidoptera  received  its  name  after 
Juno,  the  daughter  of  Saturn,  also  called  Saturnia,  and  her 
priestess,  lo. 

The  Saturnia  lo  is  represented  in  Figs.  27  and  28,  the 
male  with  four,  and  the  female  with  two  globular,  black 
spots  on  the  wings.  The  female  is  the  larger,  and  differs 
in  color. 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      141 

The  Silk-worm  Moth  (Bombyx  mori). 

Of  all  the  lepidoptei'ous  insects  this  is  the  most  celebra- 
ted and  the  most  useful  to  man,  and  consequently  deserves 
as  extended  a  notice  as  the  limits  of  this  work  will  allow. 
It  is  generally  known  that  most  of  the  caterpillars,  at  the 
period  of  their  metamorphosis,  envelop  themselves  with  a 
silky  web,  which  forms  the  inner  part  of  the  cocoon.  But 
it  is  not,  perhaps,  so  well  known  how  this  silk  is  obtained 
fi-om  the  caterpillar,  nor  to  what  extent  this  most  valuable 
of  all  the  products  of  insects  could  be  cultivated  in  this 
country. 

It  is  true  that  mankind  have  lived,  and  could  live,  with- 
out the  use  of  silk,  and  the  same  might  be  said  of  almost  all 
our  luxuries  ;  but  whoever  has  witnessed  the  steady  progress 
of  refinement  in  manners  and  customs  which  has  attended 
the  increase  of  luxuries  in  society  will  be  careful  how  he 
speaks  against  the  use  of  an  ai'ticle  which  gives  employ- 
ment to  many  thousands  of  people  in  its  first  production, 
and  furnishes  many  hundreds  of  thousands  with  food  and 
raiment  by  its  final  manufacture,  and  has  already  become 
one  of  the  most  important  sources  of  national  wealth.  Be- 
sides, were  it  not  for  the  use  of  silk  and  its  costliness,  it  is 
probable  that  our  woolen,  cotton,  and  linen  stuffs  would 
be  much  dearer  than  they  are,  and  much  harder  for  poor 
people  to  obtain.  Silk  stuffs  are,  moreover,  an  appendage 
of  rank  and  office,  without  which  insignificant  courts,  igno- 
rant embassadors,  and  many  other  brainless  people,  would 
lose  their  whole  splendor  and  influence. 

Silk  has  always  been  an  expensive  article,  and  has  a  cu- 
rious history.  It  was  once  valued  at  its  weight  in  gold  at 
Rome.  The  extravagant  Julius  Cajsar  covered  the  stage 
of  the  theatre  with  a  silken  carpet ;  but  the  Emperor  Tibe- 
rius prohibited  gentlemen  from  wearing  silk  dresses,  because 
he  considered  it  effeminate.     The  emperors  Caligula  and 


142  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Heliogabalus  di'essed  themselves  throughout  in  silk ;  but 
Aurelian  was  so  impolite  and  so  peniu-ious  that  he  refused 
even  his  empress  a  robe  of  silk  on  account  of  its  costliness. 

Kirby  and  Spence,  in  their  "  Introduction  to  Entomol- 
ogy," mention  that  "  James  the  First,  King  of  Scotland, 
was  forced  to  beg  of  the  Earl  of  Mar  the  loan  of  a  pair  of 
silk  stockings  to  appear  in  before  the  English  embassador, 
enforcing  his  request  with  the  cogent  appeal, '  For  ye  would 
not,  sure,  that  your  king  should  appear  as  a  scrub  before 
strangers.'  " 

Aristotle,  in  the  third  century  B.C.,  and  Pliny,  in  the 
first  century  a.d.,  both  speak  of  the  use  of  silk. 

The  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  procured  their  silk  from 
Persia,  in  which  country  silk-worms  have  been  raised  from 
the  remotest  antiquity.  And  when  I  saw  the  great  num- 
ber of  wild  silk-worms  in  Cachetia,  Imeritia,  Mingrelia, 
Georgia,  Shirvan,  and  Dagestan  (the  modern  provinces  of 
ancient  Media),  as  far  as  to  the  heights  of  the  Caucasus, 
near  Tiflis,  the  idea  occmTcd  to  me  that  the  fabulous  story 
of  the  golden  fleece  of  the  Argonauts  must  have  had  its  or- 
igin or  reference  to  that  rich  silk  country.  These  beauti- 
ful provinces  are  now  in  the  possession  of  Russia,  and  are 
called  Transcaucasia,  and  they,  with  the  Crimea,  form 
the  richest  and  most  productive  countries  of  the  Russian 
empire. 

These  Elysian  fields  induced  my  friend  Gastellas,  of  Par- 
is, now  deceased,  to  settle  in  Tiflis,  and,  encouraged  by  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  in  1826,  to  erect  large  establishments 
for  the  cultivation  of  silk  in  Tiflis,  Karaback,  Shirvan, 
Noukha,  and  Imeritia,  of  which  he  showed  me  the  plans 
when  I  was  there  in  1825.  In  these  vast  establishments 
he  employed  twenty-seven  thousand  hands,  including  eight 
hundred  Italian  men  and  women ;  and  in  the  first  year  of 
their  operation  1,200,000  pounds  of  fine  floss-silk  were  pro- 
duced and  sold,  which,  valued  at  four  dollars  per  pound, 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      143 

amounts  to  four  millions  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Mr.  Castellas  presented  me  with  several  bundles  of  the  silk 
which  he  manufactured,  and  it  was  pronounced  far  superior 
in  quality  to  the  French  or  Italian  silk  by  every  connoisseur 
to  whom  I  showed  it  afterward  in  my  travels  through  Ger- 
many and  France. 

That  enterprising  and  excellent  man  died  two  years  after 
I  left  the  Crimea,  and  while  I  was  in  St.  Domingo,  and 
my  deep  grief  at  his  untimely  departure  and  my  loss  were 
only  assuaged  by  the  sweet  hope  of  once  more  meeting  him 
beyond  the  grave.  He  has  left  this  world  forever,  and  his 
grand  and  extensive  establishments  have  probably  perished 
from  neglect;  for  a  country  where  1,200,000  idle  soldiers 
rule  the  inhabitants  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  suck  their  life- 
blood,  can  not  well  or  long  succeed  in  such  enterprises. 

It  seems  to  me  a  matter  of  regret,  and  a  great  deficiency 
in  our  views  of  political  economy,  that  the  people  of  the 
United  States  of  America  have  not  been  more  persevering 
and  successful  in  raising  their  own  silk,  for  the  importation 
of  which  they  pay  so  many  millions  of  dollars  annually. 
It  is  true  that  a  few  individuals  here  and  there  are  occu- 
pied in  this  lucrative  branch  of  industry ;  and  I  was  happy 
to  be  able  to  purchase  some  fine  silk  handkerchiefs  at 
Eapp's  Economy,  eighteen  miles  below  Pittsburgh,  on  the 
Ohio,  which  were  manufactured  there  out  of  silk  of  their 
own  raising.  But  this  is  like  a  drop  of  water  to  the  vast 
ocean,  in  a  country  of  so  immense  an  area,  and  of  a  popula- 
tion that  will  soon  reach  fifty  millions.  It  is  not  a  vision- 
ary project,  or  a  Morus  Multicaulis  speculation,  that  I 
would  encourage  ;  but  if  our  government  would  protect  this 
branch  of  industry  by  a  suitable  tariff",  the  cultivation  of 
silk-worms  and  the  manufacture  of  silk  could  be  made  a 
profitable  business.  Families  in  the  Middle  States  of  the 
Union  might  thus  employ  many  old  and  infirm  men  and 
women,  as  well  as  children  when  not  in  school ;  and  in  the 


144       .  -NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Southern  States  could  do  the  same  with  negro  childi-en,  as 
well  as  with  the  old  men  and  women  who  have  become  in- 
capacitated for  hard  work. 

To  plant  a  large  number  of  white  mulberry-trees,  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  silk-woi"ms,  is  neither  difficult  nor  expens- 
ive, and  whoever  raises  a  large  quantity  of  cocoons  may  be 
sure  of  a  ready  cash  sale  of  them,  and  at  a  great  profit. 

All  the  silk  and  silk-stuffs  of  commerce  originate  from 
the  common  silk-worm ;  but  there  exist  several  other  species 
of  nocturnal  lepidoptera  in  America  and  in  Asia,  which 
produce  silk  of  a  different  kind,  of  which  no  use,  or  a  very 
limited  one,  is  made ;  as,  for  instance,  that  of  the  Bomhyx 
madrono,  mentioned  in  Humboldt's  travels,  which  is  found 
in  the  province  of  Mechoacau,  in  Mexico,  at  the  height  of 
10,500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Handkerchiefs  are 
manufactured  of  this  silk  by  the  inhabitants  of  Oaxaca. 

The  cocoons  of  the  large  North  American  Moths,  Cecro- 
pia,  Luna,  Polyphemus,  and  Promethea,  which  I  shall  il- 
lustrate hereafter,  contain  much  silk,  a  single  fibre  of  which 
is  at  least  ten  times  as  thick  as  one  of  the  common  silk- 
worm— an  experiment  I  have  often  made  myself  Stuffs 
made  out  of  this  silk  would  far  exceed  the  common  fabrics 
in  strength  and  durability,  and  could  not,  probably,  be  worn 
out  in  many  years. 

In  India  silk  is  also  obtained  from  the  cocoons  of  other 
Moths,  in  relation  to  which  Kirby  and  Spence  say :  "  Of 
these,  the  most  important  species  known  are  the  Tusseh  and 
Arindy  Silk-worms.  These  insects  are  both  natives  of 
Bengal.  The  first  (Attacus  impilio,  Linn.),  feeds  upon  the 
leaves  of  the  jujube-tree,  or  Byer  of  the  Hindoos,  and  upon 
the  Terminalia  alata  glabra,  Eoxb.,  the  Asseen  of  the  Hin- 
doos, and  is  found  in  such  abundance  as  from  time  imme- 
morial to  have  afforded  a  constant  supply  of  a  very  durable, 
coarse,  dark-colored  silk,  which  is  woven  into  a  cloth  called 
Tusseh-doothies.     This  fabric  is  much  worn  by  the  Brah- 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES,      145 

mins  and  other  sects,  and  would  be  highly  useful  to  the  in- 
habitants of  many  parts  of  America  and  the  south  of  Eu- 
rope, where  a  light  and  cool,  and  at  the  same  time  a  cheap 
and  durable  dress,  such  as  this  silk  furnishes,  is  much  want- 
ed. The  durability  of  this  silk  is  really  astonishing,  as  aft- 
er constant  use  for  nine  or  ten  years  it  does  not  show  the 
least  appearance  of  wear  or  decay.  The  insects  which  make 
this  silk  are  thought  by  the  natives  of  so  much  consequence 
that  they  guard  them  by  day  to  preserve  them  from  crows 
and  other  birds,  and  by  night  from  the  bats.  The  second, 
the  Arindy  Silk-worm  {Phalama  Cynthia,  Drury),  feeds  sole- 
ly on  the  leaves  of  the  Palma  Christi,  and  produces  remark- 
ably soft  cocoons,  the  silk  of  which  is  so  delicate  and  flossy 
that  it  is  impracticable  to  wind  it  off,  like  other  silk,  from 
the  cocoons  ;  it  is,  therefore,  spun  like  cotton,  and  the  thread 
thus  manufactured  is  woven  into  a  coarse  kind  of  white 
cloth  of  a  loose  texture,  but  of  still  more  incredible  dura- 
bility than  the  other,  the  lifetime  of  one  person  being  sel- 
dom sufficient  to  wear  out  a  garment  made  of  it.  It  is 
used  not  only  for  clothing,  but  for  packing  fine  cloths. 
Some  manufacturers  in  England  to  whom  the  silk  was 
shown  seemed  to  think  that  it  could  there  be  made  into 
shawls  equal  to  any  received  from  India. 

The  silk  which  is  the  most  extensively  manufactured  in 
China,  Japan,  France,  Italy,  and  some  other  countries,  is, 
as  already  mentioned,  the  product  of  the  common  silk-worm 
moth,  which  is  of  medium  size,  and  of  a  white,  yellowish 
color.  A  single  female  produces  from  three  to  five  hun- 
dred eggs,  which  are  oval,  bright  yellow,  and  which  may 
be  preserved  in  a  cool  room  during  a  whole  winter.  In  the 
month  of  May  their  color  becomes  lighter  or  paler,  and 
little  white  and  transparent  caterpillars  may  be  seen  issu- 
ing from  them.  These  little  creatures  require  to  be  fed  im- 
mediately with  tender  leaves  of  the  white  mulberry.  They 
will  also  eat  the  leaves  of  maple,  pear,  and  oak  trees,  as 

G 


146  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS, 

well  as  those  of  the  raspberry  and  wild  rose,  though  only 
for  a  short  time ;  but  if  they  eat  the  leaves  of  the  grape- 
vine they  will  die  in  convulsions  within  two  days. 

These  tender  caterpillars  require  to  be  treated  with  the 
greatest  care.  They  can  not  be  taken  up  with  the  fingers 
and  placed  upon  the  leaves,  but  must  be  moved  with  a  fine 
paint-brush,  or  with  the  soft  feather  of  a  partridge  or  quail. 
Fresh  and  perfectly  dry  leaves  must  be  given  them  twice  a 
day,  spread  out  in  a  sieve,  from  which  they  are  to  be  re- 
moved in  the  same  manner — that  is,  taken  up  on  a  feather 
every  time  they  are  fed.  All  the  excrements  and  remnants 
of  old  leaves  must  be  removed,  and  the  sieve  made  thorough- 
ly clean,  before  fresh  leaves  are  placed  on  it,  because  any  ac- 
cumulation of  filth  will  soon  cause  them  to  sicken  and  die. 

These  little  beings,  as  soon  as  they  issue  from  the  egg, 
are  able  to  spin,  and  may  be  seen  marking  their  way  by  a 
fine  silk  thread.  In  ten  or  eleven  days  after  birth  they  cast 
their  skin,  and  this  operation  is  again  repeated  three  times, 
about  as  often  as  every  two  weeks.  AVhen  they  have  cast 
their  skin  the  third  time  they  are  usually  grown  to  one  and 
a  half  inches  in  length,  at  which  period  of  their  lives  they 
are  subject  to  diarrhcea  and  other  diseases,  caused  by  damp- 
ness, coarse  food,  cold  or  bad  air.  Besides,  they  have  many 
enemies  from  which  they  are  in  danger,  such  as  mice,  moles, 
weasels,  lizards,  ichneumon,  wasps,  hornets,  dragon-flies, 
and  even  spiders.  The  apartments  where  silk-worms  are 
raised  must  therefore  be  airy,  but  dry  and  clean,  and  the 
windows  protected  by  gauze  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  nox- 
ious insects. 

After  they  have  cast  their  skin  the  fourth  time  their  col- 
or becomes  more  yellowish,  and  they  will  be  observed  wan- 
dering about  uneasily,  as  if  seeking  some  place  to  alight, 
when  some  brush  should  be  put  near  them,  upon  which 
they  may  creep  and  there  spin  their  cocoons. 

These  cocoons  are  of  a  white  or  vellow  coloi\  and  coii- 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      147 

tain  the  chrysalis,  which,  if  allowed  to  remain  undisturbed 
for  two  or  tlu'ee  weeks,  will  be  metamorphosed  into  a  moth. 
But  the  moth,  in  escaping  from  its  silky  prison,  breaks  the 
threads  of  silk  which  encompass  it,  and  of  course  renders 
the  cocoon  useless  to  man.  Hence,  in  order  to  prevent 
this,  the  cocoons  must  be  put  into  a  warm  oven,  Avhere  the 
chrysalis  Avill  be  suffocated,  and  then  the  cocoons  may  bo 
preserved  for  any  length  of  time,  and  their  silk  reeled  oflf 
at  pleasure. 

So  easy  and  amusing  is  this  process,  it  is  surprising  that 
young  people  living  in  our  country  villages,  especially  where 
thei-e  are  white  mulberry-trees  (and  they  may  be  cultivated 
in  almost  any  of  our  States),  do  not  more  often  engage  in 
it.  Nothing  would  be  easier  than  to  raise  silk  enough 
every  year  for  domestic  use,  and  also  enough  for  sale,  from 
the  proceeds  of  which  each  individual  might  realize  a  hand- 
some salary.  But  to  say  nothing  of  pecuniary  advantage, 
the  ennobling  nature  of  the  employment — tracing  in  the 
natural  histoiy  of  these  little  animals  man's  own  destiny, 
and  reading  so  plainly  the  invariable  order  of  nature  which 
is  the  foundation  of  his  hopes  for  the  future — one  would 
think,  ought  to  be  ample  compensation  for  all  the  care  their 
culture  requires,  certainly  a  sufficient  remuneration  for  so 
many  otherwise  idle  or  misspent  hours.  To  see  the  suc- 
cessive transformations  of  these  little  caterpillars — to  watch 
their  development  from  the  tiny  egg  to  their  full  growth, 
and  then,  instead  of  gradually  decaying  into  death  and  cor- 
ruption, as  human  beings  do,  to  see  them  in  full  maturity 
climbing  off  the  earth,  weaving  joyously  their  silken  shroud, 
and  calmly  folding  themselves  up,  not  to  die,  but  only  to 
exchange  a  crawling  body  for  a  winged  and  ethereal  form — 
what  scene  in  nature  more  elevating,  more  consoling,  more 
full  of  promise  to  man,  the  most  miserable  of  all  animal 
creations,  and  yet  the  most  capable  of  the  highest  happiness ! 

In  hopes  of  encouraging  the  young  to  engage  in  this 


148  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS, 

lucrative  amusement,  as  well  as  for  the  purpose  of  furnish- 
ing accurate  data  to  those  who  are  interested  in  the  history 
of  the  raising  of  silk-worms  for  commercial  purposes,  we 
shall  enter  still  more  into  its  details. 

An  ounce  of  the  eggs  of  the  silk-worm  moth  contains 
about  forty  thousand  caterpillars,  which,  if  all  live,  will 
produce  one  hundred  pounds  of  floss-silk.  This  number  of 
caterpillars  will  consume  about  a  thousand  pounds  of  leaves, 
to  furnish  which  about  sixty  white  mulberry-trees  will  be 
required.  If  these  trees  are  properly  cultivated  they  should 
be  planted  about  six  feet  apart,  and  after  they  are  well 
grown  need  very  little  care. 

From  these  data  it  may  be  seen  how  easy  and  how  profit- 
able is  this  species  of  husbandry ;  and  yet  so  little  silk  has 
hitherto  been  produced  in  the  United  States  that  we  have 
imported  it  from  Italy,  France,  and  China.  It  seems  al- 
most incredible,  but  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  during  the 
year  1855  over  twenty-five  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  silk 
was  imported  into  this  country  from  the  above-named  places. 
We  give  the  exact  figures  of  the  imports,  viz. : 

Of  raw  silk §751,623 

Of  manufactured  silk 24,916,356 

Making  in  all $25,667,979 

Italy,  scarcely  larger  than  our  State  of  Florida,  exports 
annually  raw  silk  to  -the  amount  of  $500,000,  and  manu- 
factured silk  to  the  amount  of  $13,800,000 ;  making  in  all, 
for  this  one  article  of  commerce,  $14,300,000. 

Even  in  the  small  peninsula  of  the  Crimea,  silk-culture 
is  carried  on  to  a  very  great  extent,  and  in  many  places  by 
the  Tartars,  Greeks,  and  Armenians.  We  recollect  making 
a  July  excursion  in  that  romantic  country  thirty  years  ago, 
and  our  visit  to  one  of  the  numerous  silk  establishments 
there  is  still  treasured  up  among  the  delightful  incidents  of 
early  travels.  Before  the  break  of  day  we  left  Sudak,  on 
the  shore  of  the  Black  Sea,  directing  our  way  toward  the 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES,      149 

city  of  Kaffa,  now  called  Theodosia,  a  name  given  to  it  by 
the  modern  northern  Semiramis,  Catharine  II.,  in  honor  of 
Julian's  profligate  empress.  As  we  neared  the  city,  the 
high-soaring  larks  and  the  melodious  nightingales,  from 
the  topmost  branches  of  the  trees,  were  warbling  their 
morning  salutations  to  the  rising  sun,  whose  crimson  beams 
had  just  begun  to  gild  the  neighboring  hills  with  purple 
and  gold,  brightening  till  their  illuminated  tops  seemed  like 
golden  crowns  hovering  over  the  heads  of  Julian  and  his 
Empress  Theodosia.  The  contrasts  of  scenery  and  of  char- 
acter— Julian,  the  apostate  and  enemy  of  Christianity,  and 
Theodosia,  once  a  prostitute,  now  a  fanatic  and  an  empress 
— were  absorbing  all  our  thoughts,  when  we  came  upon  a 
comfortable-looking  country  residence,  on  all  sides  sur- 
rounded with  white  mulberry-trees.  Supposing,  of  course, 
that  these  were  cultivated  for  the  purpose  of  raising  silk,  we 
could  not  forbear  alighting  from  the  horse  and  seeking  the 
acquaintance  of  the  proprietor.  The  estate  belonged  to  an 
Armenian  gentleman,  who  very  kindly  received  us,  and 
showed  us  his  whole  plantation.  There  were  about  800 
mulberry-trees  upon  an  area  of  300  square  yards,  and  the 
multitude  of  silk- worms  in  their  several  airy  apartments  were 
just  on  the  point  of  making  their  cocoons.  The  net  pixrfit 
of  this  one  establishment  for  the  year  previous  was  1200  ru- 
bles, equivalent  to  $240,  and  the  proprietor  informed  us 
that  he  had  several  other  similar  ones  in  different  places. 

All  these  peaceful  establishments  in  the  Crimea — the 
home  and  the  happiness  of  so  many  families,  the  support 
of  thousands  of  harmless  and  virtuous  men,  women,  and 
children — have  been  destroyed  in  the  late  pestilential  war, 
and  the  inhabitants  plundered,  driven  away,  or  cruelly  mur- 
dered, and  all  merely  to  satisfy  the  ambition  and  add  to 
the  glory  and  power  of  tyrants.  Strange  that  the  tortured 
nations  of  Europe  can  submit  to  the  oppressive  yoke  of  tyr- 
anny which  crushes  them  !     Passing  strange  that  they  do 


150  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

not  see  that  tlieir  standing  armies  are  supported  only  to 
keep  them  in  perpetual  slavery,  and  that  in  abolishing  their 
system  of  hired  soldiery  they  would,  at  the  same  time,  in- 
sure the  death  of  tyrants,  and  bring  the  resurrection-day  of 
the  oppressed  nations! 

Many  years  ago  England  adopted  a  ruinous  policy  in  rais- 
ing immoderately  high  the  duties  upon  imported  raw  silk, 
thinking  thus  to  enforce  its  domestic  production;  but  the 
stoppage  of  all  the  silk  manufactories  was  the  only  result. 
James  I.  was  very  solicitous  to  introduce  the  breeding  of 
silk-worms  into  England,  and,  in  a  speech  from  the  throne, 
he  earnestly  recommended  his  subjects  to  plant  mulberry- 
trees  for  this  purpose ;  but  the  project  was  a  total  failure. 
That  country  does  not  seem  to  be  well  adapted  to  this  spe- 
cies of  husbandry,  on  account  of  the  great  prevalence  of 
blighting  east  winds  during  the  months  of  April  and  May, 
when  the  young  worms  require  a  plentiful  supply  of  mul- 
berry-leaves. The  manufacture  of  silk  goods,  however, 
made  great  pi'ogress  during  that  king's  reign ;  and  it  bad 
become  so  considerable  in  London,  that  the  silk-throwsters 
of  the  city  and  suburbs  formed  themselves  into  a  corpora- 
tion, and  in  1661  they  employed  forty  thousand  persons. 
The  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  in  1685  by  the  fa- 
natic libertine  Louis  XIV.,  who  expelled  all  the  Protestants 
from  France  to  gain  divine  absolution  for  his  crimes,  con- 
tributed in  a  remarkable  manner  to  the  increase  of  the  En- 
glish silk  trade  by  the  introduction  of  a  large  colony  of  skill- 
ful French  weavers,  who  settled  in  Spitalfields.  The  great 
silk-throwing  mill  erected  at  Derby,  in  1719,  also  served  to 
promote  the  extension  of  this  branch  of  manufacture ;  for 
soon  afterward,  in  the  year  1730,  the  English  silk  goods 
were  sold  at  a  higher  price  in  Italy  than  those  made  by  the 
Italians. 

But  a  great  revolution  was  effected  in  this  manufacture 
in   1825,     Previously  to  that  epoch  the  legislative  enact- 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      151 

mcnts  in  regard  to  it  were  the  most  contradictory  and  im- 
politic that  can  well  be  imagined.  The  importation  of 
foreign  manufactured  silks  was  prohibited  under  the  sever- 
est penalties;  but  the  advantage  that  tliis  prohibition  was 
so  erroneously  believed  to  confer  upon  the  manufacturer, 
would,  under  any  circumstances,  have  been  more  than 
neutralized  by  the  imposition  of  oppi'essive  duties  on  the 
raw  material.  This  mistaken  policy  was  productive  of 
great  injury,  because,  owing  to  the  exorbitant  duties  on  the 
raw  material,  and  the  want  of  improvement  in  the  manu- 
facture, the  price  of  silks  was  maintained  so  high  as  to  re- 
strict the  demand  for  them  within  comparatively  narrow 
limits.  In  1825,  however,  a  more  reasonable  policy  was 
adopted,  which  was  soon  productive  of  great  change  in  this 
department  of  business.  The  duties  on  the  raw  material 
were  greatly  lowered,  at  the  same  time  that  foreign  silk 
goods  were  allowed  as  imports  on  the  payment  of  a  duty 
of  30  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  This  new  tariff  was  vehement- 
ly opposed  at  the  outset,  and  it  was  confidently  predicted 
that  it  would  occasion  the  ruin  of  the  manufacture;  but 
the  result  has  shown  the  soundness'  of  the  principle  on 
which  it  was  based.  The  manufacturers  were  now  for  the 
first  time  compelled  to  call  in  all  the  I'esources  of  science 
and  ingenuity  to  their  aid,  and  the  result  has  been  that  the 
manufacture  of  silks  has  been  improved  more  during  the 
last  twenty-five  years  than  it  had  been  during  the  whole 
previous  century,  and  that  it  has  continued  progressively  to 
increase.  The  total  quantity  of  raw  silk  imported  for  home 
consumption  in  1838  was  3,595,816  lbs.  The  total  num- 
ber of  individuals  directly  engaged  in  its  manufacture  has 
been  estimated  at  upward  of  207,000,  and  the  value  of  the 
silks  annually  manufactured  may  be  estimated  at  from  fifty 
to  sixty  million  dollars.  For  full  particulars  as  to  the  his- 
tory and  manufacture  of  silk  the  reader  is  I'eferred  to  Por- 
ter's treatise  on  this  subject  in  Lardner''s  Cyclopaedia. 


152 


NORTH   AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


About  twenty  years  ago  the  business  of  raising  silk- 
worms was  extensively  introduced  throughout  the  United 
States,  and  was  entered  into  with  great  enthusiasm,  but  so 
foolishly,  and  with  so  little  knowledge  of  the  subject,  that 
the  Morus  Multicaulis  speculation  proved  an  entire  failure, 
and  caused  almost  an  abandonment  of  this  branch  of  indus- 
try. The  changeable  temperature  of  the  Northern,  Eastern, 
and  Middle  States  renders  them  naturally  less  suitable  for 
the  cultivation  of  the  white  mulberry,  at  the  time  when  its 
leaves  are  most  needed  for  the  young  silk-worms,  than  the 
Southern  States,  and,  besides,  manual  labor  costs  more  in 
the  North  than  in  the  South,  where  all  the  work  of  a  silk 
establishment  may  be  performed  by  superannuated  or  very 
young  slaves,  no  physical  strength  being  necessary  for  super- 
intending the  silk-worms  or  for  unwinding  their  cocoons. 
Since  the  Morus  Multicaulis  fever  died  away,  however,  very 
few  silk-worms  have  been  raised  in  this  country,  as  may 
be  seen  from  the  Statistical  Vieiv  of  the  United  Slates,  by  J. 
D.  B.  De  Bow,  Superintendent  of  the  United  States  Census, 
Washington,  1854  ;  from  which  I  copy  the  following  table : 


Silk  Cocoon  Production  of  the  United  States  in  1840  and 
1850. 


states. 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

Columbia,  Dist.  of 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

Florida. 

Georgia 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kentucky 


Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts . 
Michigan 


1S40. 


1850. 


Pounds. 

1,592 

98 

651 

17,538 

1,758 

124 

2,292 

1,150 

379 


737 
317 
211 
2,299 
1,741 
268 


PuUlUlK. 

167 

38 


328 


6 

813 
47 

387 

246 

1,281 

29 

252 

39 

7 

108 


Mississippi 

Missouri 

New  Hampshire . 

New  Jersey , 

New  York 

North  Carolina... 

Ohio 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode  Island 

South  Carolina.., 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Vermont 

Virginia , 

Total  sum.., 


1840. 


1850. 


i'ounds. 

91 
70 
119 
],96G 
1,735 
3,014 
4,317 
7,262 
1,013 
2,080 
1,217 


4,286 
3,191 


60,811 


rounds. 

2 

186 

191 

23 

1,744 

229 

1,552 

285 

458 

123 

1,329 

28 

268 

317 


10,603 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  DUTTERFLIES.      153 

From  this  statistical  table  it  will  be  seen  that  the  de- 
crease of  raised  silk-cocoons  in  this  country  amounts  to 
50,208  pounds;  but  at  the  same  time  we  perceive  with 
pleasure  that  they  were  rather  increasing  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  still  more  in  Maine,  Indiana,  and  Tennes- 
see. In  Kentucky,  also,  according  to  the  last  census,  544 
pounds  of  silk-cocoons  were  produced  more  than  at  the  date 
of  the  pi'eceding  census. 

But  our  limits  will  not  allow  us  longer  to  dwell  upon  the 
history  and  rearing  of  the  Silk-worm,  and  we  pass  to  the 
consideration  of  its  caterpillars,  only  referring  our  readers 
for  more  complete  details  to  the  most  modern  and  perhaps 
the  best  work  on  the  subject,  viz.,  that  of  Count  Dandolo, 
of  Venice :  "  DeW  arte  cli  governare  i  bachi  da  seiia.  Mila- 
110,  1819." 

The  Cecropia,  Polypheme,  Luna,  and  Promethea  Moths. 

This  noble  family  of  large  Moths  is,  perhaps,  the  hand- 
somest of  all  the  nocturnal  lepidoptera.  They  are  beauti- 
fully covered  with  soft  down,  and  are  ornamented  with  a 
great  variety  of  splendid  colors.  It  seems,  at  first  view, 
strange  that  colors  so  beautiful  should  be  found  on  insects 
that  display  themselves  only  at  night ;  but  it  is  not,  after 
all,  in  dissonance  with  the  poetry  of  Nature  that  they  should 
be  seen  sporting  only  in  the  calm,  starry  night,  on  the  soft 
breezes  that  are  laden  with  delicious  fragrance,  when  the 
fire-flies  glisten  on  the  earth  like  the  reflection  of  twinkling 
stars  on  the  bosom  of  the  placid  water,  and  the  mysterious 
whip-poor-will  or  the  lugubi'ious  owl  whistle  their  melan- 
choly music  through  the  sombre  forest.  Often  have  we 
roamed  through  Nature's  open  temple  till  the  blazing  sun 
had  gone  to  rest ;  and,  overcome  with  the  day's  fatigue, 
have  laid  us  down  amidst  the  fragrance  of  wild  flowers, 
only  to  dream  of  things  the  day  could  not  reveal.  Thus 
in  the  depths  of  slumber  have  we  often  laid,  and  in  dreamy 

G2 


154 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


^f'"   ■      >, 


OllDER    IV. MOTHS    AND    BUTTERFLIES.  155 

visions  seen  the  graves  of  the  dead  all  open,  and  spirits  as- 
cending in  the  shape  and  winged  dress  of  these  nocturnal 
insects,  sporting  in  the  moonlit  space,  dancing  to  the  never- 
ceasing  fiddle  of  the  merry  cricket,  stooping  down  to  the 
dewy  earth,  with  bended  heads  close  by  our  attentive  ears, 
as  if  to  confess  the  evil  and  the  misery  of  a  former  life,  then 
joyfully  shaking  off  the  mist,  and  darting  upward  into  the 
purer  ether. 

One  of  the  handsomest  of  these  nocturnal  faiiy-like  in- 
sects is  the  Cecropia  Moth  {Attacus  cecropia),  Fig.  31.  It 
is  found  all  the  Avay  from  the  Canadas  down  to  the  Mexi- 
can Gulf,  as  well  as  in  all  the  Western  States,  We  have 
received  specimens  from  Montreal  and  from  Louisiana,  and 
some  very  fine  ones  from  Davenport,  in  Iowa,  sent  by  our 
esteemed  entomological  correspondent,  Professor  D.  S.  Shel- 
don, of  Iowa  College. 

This  beautiful  Moth  has  veiy  large  wings,  which,  when 
expanded,  will  measure  from  five  to  six  inches  in  breadth, 
and  which  are  covered  with  dusky-brown  feathered  scales, 
and  adorned  with  a  kidney-shaped  red  spot  and  a  reddish- 
white  band,  with  a  black  spot  resembling  an  eye  upon  the 
upper  or  fore  wings.  It  appears  in  the  Southern  States  as 
early  as  the  month  of  May,  but  in  the  Northern  not  until 
June,  when  the  female  deposits  her  white,  kidney-shaped 
eggs  upon  the  apple,  cherry,  or  wild  plum  trees,  the  leaves 
of  which  constitute  the  food  of  the  caterpillars,  which  are 
hatched  out  of  the  eggs  by  the  warmth  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  Caterpillar,  Fig.  32,  is  almost  as  beautiful  as  the 
perfect  insect.  It  measures  from  three  to  four  inches  in 
length,  is  of  a  light-green  color,  and  has  coral-red  warts, 
with  short  black  bristles  covering  its  body.  It  remains 
upon  the  trees,  feeding  on  its  leaves,  till  August  or  Sep- 
tember, when  it  descends,  and  may  often  be  seen  creeping 
on  paths  and  sidewalks,  searching  for  currant  or  barberry 
bushes,  upon  which  it  likes  to  build  its  cocoon. 


156 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


Figure  32. 


Any  one  who  meets  with  these  caterpillars  in  the  above- 
mentioned  months  may 
have  the  pleasure  of 
witnessing  their  meta- 
morphosis into  cocoons, 
and  several  months  aft- 
erward into  an  elegant 
Moth,  by  taking  them 
up  very  carefully  upon 
leaves  and  cautiously 
carrying  them  home, 
placing  them  in  a  spa- 
cious box,  with  a  little 
moistened  earth  at  the 
bottom,  and  then  put- 
ting into  it  some  dry 
brush-wood,  about  one 
foot  high,  and  covering 
the  whole  with  gauze  in 
order  to  prevent  their 
escape.  On  the  first  and 
second  days  of  their  cap- 
tivity they  will  run  un- 
steadily from  one  part 
of  the  box  to  another, 
ascending  and  descend- 
ing, examining  every 
part  of  it  in  order  to 
choose  the  most  conve- 
nient spot  for  spinning 
their  cocoon,  in  which 
the  chrysalis  is  secured  from  the  inclemency  of  the  damp  and 
cold  weather,  and  lies  safer  than  an  infant  in  its  cradle.  In 
less  than  two  days  they  spin,  between  two  twigs  of  the  brush, 
a  brown,  parchment-like  cocoon,  three  inches  long  and  one 


Caterpillar  of  the  Cecropia. 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES. 


1/57 


wide,  which  is  fastened  securely  to  the  twigs,  and  which  is 
so  strong  that  its  outer  „.        „„ 

o  Figure  o3. 

coat  can  not  be  torn 
with  the  fingers.  The 
inside  of  this  outer 
skin  or  covering  is 
thickly  lined  with  soft 
but  strong  brown  silk, 
which  may  be  woven 
and  unwound  like  that 
of  any  Silk-worm,  and 
surrounds  a  black, 
shining  chrysalis,  from 
which  in  due  time  the 
Moth  issues. 

Fig.  33  represents 
the  cocoon,  and  Fig. 
34  its  silk. 

These  cocoons  re- 
main motionless  on  the 
bushes  until  May  or 
June,  and  though  oft- 
en exposed  in  the  open 
air  to  a  temperature  as 
low  as  10°  Fahr.  they 
are   perfectly  protect- 

j         mu  u  •   1,  Cocoon  of  the  Cecropia. 

ed.      I  hose  which  we  ' 

have  raised  in  the  house  come  out  as  early  as  Api-il,  be- 
cause the  warmth  of  the  room  develops  them  sooner.  When 
ready  to  emerge  from  its  shell,  the  Moth  throws  out  a  caus- 
tic liquid  from  its  mouth,  which  destroys  the  fibres  of  silk 
-and  enables  it  easily  to  pierce  the  upper  end  gf  its  parch- 
ment-like prison,  from  which  it  then  creeps  out  with  short, 
damp  antennae  and  wings,  which  by  continual  moving  be- 
come dry  and  enlarged  to  their  natural  size. 


158 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INSECTS. 


Silk  of  the  Cecropia. 


Figure  34.  In  the  "  riiilosoph- 

ical  Transactions  of 
the  Royal  Society  of 
London,"  for  the  year 
1759,  vol.  li.,  p.  54, 
it  is  stated  that  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Pullein 
was  among  the  first 
to  attempt  to  unvv'ind 
the  cocoons  of  the  Ce- 
cropia  Moth.  "Mr. 
Pullein  ascertained 
that  twenty  threads 
of  this  silk,  twisted 
together,  would  sus- 
tain nearly  one  ounce  more  in  weight  than  the  same  num- 
ber of  common  silk. 

We  find  also,  in  the  "  Transactions  of  the  American  Phil- 
osophical Society  of  Philadelphia,"  vol.  i.,  p.  294,  that  Mo- 
ses Bartram,  of  Philadelphia,  as  early  as  the  year  1767, 
raised  a  number  of  caterpillars  from  the  eggs  of  the  Cecro- 
pia,  from  which  he  obtained  cocoons. 

"  About  twenty  years  ago,"  says  the  Journal  des  Debats, 
Paris,  Juillet,  1846,  "Mons.  Audouin  received  a  box  of  co- 
coons of  the  Cecropia  and  its  kindred  moths  from  New  Or- 
leans, and  he  succeeded  perfectly  in  raising  them,  and  after- 
ward witnessing  their  several  metamorphoses." 

The  Polypheme,  Luna,  and  Promethea  Moths  also  pro- 
duce large  cocoons,  and  silk  of  the  same  quality ;  and  our 
lamented  friend.  Dr.  Thaddeus  Harris,  of  Cambridge,  Mas- 
sachusetts, says,  in  his  Treatise  on  Injurious  Insects  :  "  The 
following  ckcumstances  seem  particularly  to  recommend 
these  indigenous  Silk-worms  to  the  attention  of  persons  in- 
terested in  the  silk  culture.  Our  native  trees  afford  an 
abundance  of  food  for  the  caterpillars ;  their  cocoons  are 


ORDER  IV, MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      159 

much  heavier  than  those  of  the  Silk-worm,  and  will  yield  a 
greater  quantity  of  silk ;  and  as  the  insects  remain  un- 
changed in  the  chrysalis  state  from  September  to  June,  the 
cocoons  may  be  kept  for  unwinding  at  any  leisure  time 
during  the  winter.  The  Luna,  Polypheme,  Cecropia,  and 
Promethea  Moths  are  the  only  native  insects  belonging  to 
the  genus  Attacus  known  to  me.  Their  large  cocoons,  con- 
sisting entirely  of  silk,  the  fibres  of  which  far  surpass  those 
of  the  Silk- worm  in  strength,  might  be  employed  in  the 
formation  of  fabrics  similar  to  those  manufactured  in  India 
from  the  cocoons  of  the  Tussch  and  Arindi  Silk-worms,  tlje 
durability  of  which  is  such  that  a  garment  of  Tusseh-silk 
is  scarcely  worn  out  in  the  lifetime  of  one  person,  but  often 
descends  from  mother  to  daughter ;  and  even  the  covers  of 
palanquins  made  of  it,  though  exposed  to  the  influence  of 
the  weather,  last  many  years.  Experiments  have  been 
made  with  the  silk  of  the  Cecropia,  which  has  been  carded 
and  spun,  and  woven  into  stockings  that  wash  like  linen." 

With  all  these  facts  before  us,  however,  t\\&  raising  of 
Silk-worms  for  the  production  of  silk  in  this  country  has 
never  yet  been  a  flourishing  branch  of  industry,  nor  are  we 
able  to  foresee  the  time  when  it  will  become  so. 

Another  large  silk-producing  Moth  is  the  Poltpheivie 
Moth  {Attacus  Polyphemus),  Fig.  35.  Its  name,  derived 
from  one  of  the  giants  of  mythology,  Linnasus  gave  to  this 
Moth  probably  on  account  of  the  large  size  of  its  wings, 
which,  like  those  of  the  Cecropia,  expand  from  three  to  six 
inches.  They  are  of  an  ochre-yellow  color,  clouded  with 
black,  and  each  wing  is  ornamented  with  a  transparent  spot 
resembling  an  eye.  The  caterpillar  of  this  Moth  is  found 
in  July  or  August,  according  to  the  geographical  latitude, 
on  oak,  elm,  and  lime  trees,  and  is  from  two  to  three  inches 
long,  and  nearly  as  thick  as  a  man's  thumb.  Its  body  is 
pale,  bluish  green,  covered  with  orange-colored  and  purple 
warts.     Its  head  and  feet  are  black.     When  full  grown,  it 


160 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


draws  together  several  leaves  of  the  tree  with  its  silken 
thread,  and,  inclosed  within  them,  manufactures  an  oval 
cocoon  about  two  inches  long,  which  is  very  strong,  con- 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES. 


161 


tains  mucli  silk,  and,  toward  winter,  falls  to  the  ground 
with  the  dry  leaves.  There  it  remains  until  the  following 
July  or  August,  when  the  perfect  moth  issues  from  its 
damp  prison,  having  spent  the  whole  of  the  cold  season  un- 
injured under  deep  snow  or  on  the  moist  ground.  The 
cocoons  of  this  Moth,  producing  silk  of  the  same  quality 
and  in  the  same  quantity  as  those  of  the  Cecropia,  may  be 
found,  in  the  spring,  under  oak,  elm,  or  lime  trees. 

The  Luna  Moth  [Attacus  Lund),  Fig.  36,  has  wings  of 


162 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


a  beautiful  light-green  color,  prolonged  behind  in  the  form 
of  a  tail.     They  also  expand  from  three  to  five  inches. 

The  caterpillar  of  this  moth,  resembling  almost  exactly 
that  of  the  Polypheme  in  size  and  color,  lives  on  walnut 
and  hickory  trees,  and  manufactures  its  cocoon  in  the  same 
manner.  At  the  approach  of  cold  weather  these  cocoons 
also  fall  to  the  ground  with  the  leaves  of  ti'ees,  and  those 
who  wish  can  gather  them  in  the  fall  or  spring.  Their 
silk,  also,  is  of  the  same  quality  as  that  of  the  Cecropia 
and  Polypheme  Moths. 

The  Pkometiiea  Moth  [Attacus  Promeihea),  Fig.  37,  the 


The  Promethea  Moth— Male. 

male,  and  Fig.  38,  the  female.  As  is  often  the  case  with 
beasts,  birds,  and  other  insects,  the  male  of  this  moth  differs 
very  much  from  the  female  in  colors.  The  male  insect  is 
of  a  dark  brown,  and  the  female  of  a  light  reddish-brown 
color.  Both  are  ornamented  with  a  black  spot,  somewhat 
like  an  eye  in  shape,  upon  the  fore  wings,  and  the  female 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES. 


16; 


has,  besides,  an  angular  reddish-white  spot  near  the  middle 
of  each  of  the  wings.  The  wings  of  both  expand  from 
three  to  four  inches. 

The  female  deposits  her  eggs,  according  to  the  geograph- 


ical latitude  of  the  country,  in  June  or  July,  generally  upon 
the  twigs  of  sassafras-trees,  and  in  several  clusters,  which 
are  hatched  in  about  three  weeks.  The  caterpillar,  before 
its  metamorphosis,  measures  about  two  and  a  half  inches. 
It  is  of  a  bluish-green  color,  witli  the  exception  of  the  head, 


164  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

feet,  and  tail,  which  are  yellow.  Upon  its  body  are  often 
seen  several  small  wart-like  eminences,  some  of  a  coral  red, 
others  of  a  dark  blue  color. 

A  larva  of  this  kind,  before  making  its  cocoon,  glues  a 
leaf  to  the  twig  on  which  it  rests,  in  order  that  it  may  not 
fall  to  the  ground  in  autumn,  and  in  order  to  use  it  as  a 
cover  to  its  cocoon,  which  is  only  about  one  inch  long,  of 
an  oval  form,  and  contains  good  strong  silk,  though  not  as 
much  as  the  others  of  this  genus  of  Attaci.  These  cocoons 
may  easily  be  collected  every  autumn  or  winter  upon  the 
twigs  of  the  sassafras-tree,  when  all  the  leaves  have  fallen 
off  except  those  upon  which  these  insects  have  fastened. 

The  above  moths  are  the  four  species  of  native  insects 
from  the  cocoons  of  which  durable  and  strong- silk  stuffs 
may  be  fabricated ;  viz,  : 

Tlie  Cecropia,  found  upon  apple,  cherry,  or  plum  trees ; 
"    Polypheme,  "         "     oak,  elm,  or  lime  trees; 
"    Luna,  "         "     walnut  or  liickorj' trees  ; 

"    Promethea,  "        "     sassafras-trees. 

These  nocturnal  beauties  are  probably  the  most  useful  of  all 
of  their  order  to  man,  and,  not  being  to  any  extent  injurious 
to  vegetation,  their  abundance  in  any  country  should  be  con- 
sidered as  one  of  the  resources  of  wealth  and  luxury.  But 
we  pass  to  others,  if  not  as  useful,  yet  quite  as  beautiful.* 

The  Beautiful  Del  ope  I  a  (Deiopeia  bella). 

This  little  creature,  although  classed  among  the  noctur- 
nal lepidoptera,  on  account  of  her  bristle-formed  antennae,  is, 

*  My  friend,  Mr.  John  Akhurst,  the  distinguished  taxidermist  of 
Brooklyn,  raises  with  the  greatest  facility  at  his  house,  from  the  eggs, 
many  hundreds  of  these  useful  moths,  and  shows,  by  doing  so,  the 
practicability  of  making  in  this  country  from  our  native  insects  dur- 
able silk  stuffs,  which  could  form  a  new  and  extensive  branch  of 
American  industry  and  commerce.  He  feeds  the  caterpillar  of  Ce- 
cropia, Luna,  Poliipheme,  and  Promethea  on  the  leaves  of  the  sweet 
gum-tree  {Liquidambar  styraciflua). 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      165 

nevertheless,  seen  flying  about  from  morning  until  evening, 
displaying  her  beauty  to  delight  the  eye  of  man  throughout 
the  day,  or  floating  joyously 
with  her  fellows  upon  the  sa-  '^s^l 

ble  wing  of  night.  Her  ele- 
gant dress  proclaims  her  one 
of  Nature's  high  nobility.  It 
is  not  a  sixpenny  or  shilling 
calico,  the  livery  of  servitude  ;  t,i    t>     *w  ■  t^        ■ 

'  -'  '  The  Beautiful  Dciopeia. 

nor  even  a  French  calico,  the 

dress  of  the  modest  middle-class  in  easy  circumstances ;  but 
she  is  clothed  with  the  most  gorgeous  silken  apparel,  of 
which  no  Miss  of  our  most  fashionable  boarding-schools, 
nor  even  the  most  dashing  and  cunning  coquette  in  Paris, 
would  be  ashamed. 

This  moth  has  fore  wings  of  a  deep  yellow  color,  spotted 
with  black ;  while  its  hind  wings  are  scai'let,  bordered  with 
a  trimming  resembling  black  lace.  The  wings  expand  about 
one  and  a  half  inches.  The  body  is  white  and  covered  with 
black  dots. 

Like  all  of  Nature's  beauties,  this  insect  makes  its  home 
among  the  flowers.  Throughout  the  summer  and  early 
autumn  months,  along  the  banks  of  almost  all  our  inland 
streams,  where  grow  the  golden  lilies  and  white  Solomon's- 
seals,  the  sweet-scented  roses  and  blue  lupins,  with  yellow 
wood-sorrels  and  azure  forget-me-not's,  this  little  moth  may 
generally  be  seen  flying  from  blossom  to  blossom,  living  on 
their  nectared  sweets,  and  dying  only  to  leave  its  future 
offspring  there. 

Its  caterpillar  usually  lives  upon  the  plant  called  in  Eu- 
rope Forget-me-not  {Myosotis  m^vensis),  which  grows  every 
where  on  the  banks  of  springs  and  brooks,  and,  presented  to 
a  young  lady  in  either  France  or  Germany,  is  considered 
"  une  declaration  cT amour ;"  but  in  America  this  plant  is 
known  by  the  name  of  scorpion-grass. 


166  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

This  little  butterfly,  some  would  say,  is  of  no  use  to  man. 
Its  splendid  costume  and  graceful  motions  only  delight  the 
eye  for  a  transient  moment,  and  even  while  we  admire  there 
hovers  in  the  air  a  rapacious  dragon-fly,  which  pounces 
upon  its  beautiful  form  and  destroys  it  at  once.  'SSVc 
transit  gloria  mundi  r^  the  moralist  exclaims — thus  vanishes 
all  of  glory  in  the  world !  So  passed  away  the  beautiful 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  the  lovely  Anne  Boleyn,  and  Marie 
Antoinette,  Queen  of  France,  falling  from  the  climax  of 
splendor  into  a  cruel  and  ignominious  death !  So  vanishes 
all  that's  beautiful,  and  of  what  use  is  it  ?  The  meteor 
sparkles  and  is  gone,  the  flower  blooms  and  fades  away,  the 
lightning's  flash  illumines  heaven  for  a  moment,  and  then 
only  leaves  "  the  dark  more  darkling." 

True,  but  the  impress  of  the  beautiful,  like  that  of  the 
good,  is  never  lost  upon  the  human  mind.  The  most  strik- 
ing instances  of  manly  courage,  of  female  devotion,  of  he- 
roic fortitude,  of  intellectual  greatness,  have  been  concen- 
trated in  the  work  of  transient  moments,  and  those  moments 
have  become  moments  of  svipernatural  power ;  like  electric 
currents,  their  effects  have  spread  through  never-ending 
human  circles.  Magic  words  have  reverberated  through 
successive  generations,  and  their  eloquence  been  as  deeply 
felt  ages  after  their  first  utterance.  The  ocean's  unfath- 
omed  depth  and  the  starry  heaven's  unlimited  space  have 
in  every  age  proclaimed  Nature's  supremacy  over  man.  A 
brute  sees  nothing  of  the  beautiful,  he  but  feels  the  control 
of  a  superior  speaking  through  his  master's  eye ;  but  man, 
whose  destiny  is  immortal,  learns,  from  transient  glimpses 
of  the  beautiful  in  nature,  the  perfection  of  taste  and  feel- 
ing to  which  his  spirit  must  attain  as  he  travels  onward 
through  eternal  spheres.  Who,  then,  will  despise  the  wing- 
ed beauty  that  flits  before  his  gaze,  or  pronounce  that  use- 
less which  a  Father's  hand  hath  made  ? 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES. 


167 


The  Woolly  Bears  (Arctia). 

The  Woolly  Bear  is  the  name  of  the  next  genus  to  which 
Ave  shall  call  attention,  and  of  which  we  shall  mention  a 
few  conspicuous  species.  A  great  number  of  caterpillars 
which  are  metamorphosed  into  moths  are  thickly  covered 
with  hairs,  and  in  some  fanciful  respects  resemble  bears. 
On  this  account  they  have  been  called  Woolly  Bears,  and 
the  whole  genus  is  named  Arctia,  from  the  Greek  word 
apKTOQ,  which  signifies  a  bear.  Their  moths,  however,  are 
known  by  the  name  of  Tiger  Moths  as  well  as  Ermine 
Moths. 

The  Virgin  Tiger  Moth  {Arctia  virgo),  Fig.  40,  is  one 

Figure  40. 


The  Virgin  Tiger  Moth. 

of  the  handsomest  and  largest  of  this  genus,  but  on  account 
of  its  fetid  odor  it  is  very  disagi-eeable  to  handle.  Its  fore 
wings  expand  more  than  two  inches,  and  are  of  a  pale  flesh- 
red  color,  covered  with  black  stripes  and  spots,  while  its 
hind  wings  are  vermilion  red,  with  a  row  of  black  dots 
around  them. 

Its  caterpillar  is  thickly  covered  with  brown  hairs,  and 
may  be  seen,  in  the  months  of  July  and  August,  creeping 
upon  the  paths,  and  feeding  upon  all  kinds  of  grass,  until 
it  makes  its  hairy  cocoon  in  the  crevices  of  some  wall  or 
fence. 


168  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

The  Argo  Tiger  Moth  (Arctia  Ai-go)  is  a  little  diiFerent 
from  the  preceding :  it  is  smaller  and  not  so  highly  colored. 
Its  caterpillar  is  of  a  very  dark -green  color,  and  is  seen  in 
large  numbers  during  the  autumn,  running  on  paths  and 
feeding  upon  grasses,  but  principally  on  the  plantain.  It 
forms  a  coarse,  hairy  cocoon,  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
former,  in  crevices. 

The  White  Muxer,  or  Virginia  Eruune  Moth  {Arctia 
Figure  41.  Virgiuica),  Fig.  4 1 ,  is 

considered  quite  a 
handsome  moth.  It 
may  be  seen  early  in 
the  summer,  flying 
short  distances  in 
meadows    and     gar- 

The  White  Miller.  ^g^g  ^^^\^^   t^g   day 

and  in  the  evenings.  It  is  generally  white,  though  some- 
times of  a  yellowish  color,  with  a  black  spot  near  the  centre 
of  the  fore  wings  and  two  black  spots  on  the  hind  wings. 
The  wings  expand  about  one  and  a  half  inches.  The  eggs, 
which  the  female  deposits  on  the  leaves  of  different  herba- 
ceous plants,  are  of  a  golden  yellow  color,  and  from  them 
issue  caterpillars,  which  are  thickly  covered  with  hairs  more 
or  less  yellow,  and  which  on  this  account  are  called  Yellow 
Bears.  They  become  about  two  inches  long,  and  feed  on 
every  herb  which  comes  in  their  way.  The  leaves  of  In- 
dian corn  are  their  favorite  food,  but  they  eat  also  those  of 
clover,  peas,  beans,  and  cabbages.  They  are,  therefore,  in- 
jurious to  vegetation,  and  ought  to  be  destroyed  whenever 
met. 

The  Rusty  Vapor  Moth. — ^This  moth,  also  called  Tus- 
sock Moth  {Orgyia  leucostigma),  Fig.  42,  is  neither  distin- 
guished for  its  beauty  nor  its  size.  Its  wings  expand  only 
about  an  inch,  and  are  of  a  light-brown  color,  of  very  or- 
dinary and  uninteresting  appearance.     But  its  caterpillar 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES. 


169 


Figure  43. 


(Fig.  43)  is  quite  handsome,  and  is  seen  during  the  summer, 
^  generally  on  rose-bushes  or  on  ap- 

ple-trees. Its  slender  body,  about 
one  inch  long,  is  covered  with  long, 
fine,  yellow  hairs,  and  is  orna- 
mented at  each  extremity  with 
two  brush-like,  yellowish  tufts, 
while  its  head  is  as  red  as  sealing- 

The  Rusty  Vapor  Moth.  .  n    , 

wax.  Ihe  motions  oi  these  cater- 
pillars are  very  slow,  and  they  eat  but  very  little ;  but  if 
they  are  numerous  on  apple-trees,  they  injure  them  by  spin- 
ning their  cocoons  upon 
the  leaves,  fastening 
their  eggs  upon  them, 
and  so  destroying  the 
vitality  of  the  tree. 

Great  caution  should 
be  used  in  handling  these 
caterpillars,  as  its  hairs 
sting  like  nettles.  When 
full  grown  they  spin 
their  tender  cocoons 
upon  a  leaf,  from  which 
the  perfect  moth  issues 
in  less  than  two  weeks. 
The  female  moth,  how- 
ever, is  wingless,  and 
deposits  her  eggs  upon 
her  own  empty  cocoon, 
which  she  then  covers 
with  a  white  fluid  sub- 
stance, which,  when 
dry,  becomes  scaly  and 

brittle.  Catei-piUar  of  Rusty  Vapor  Moth. 

H 


170  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

The  Tent-caterpillars. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  how  various  principles  and 
habits  of  mankind  are  illustrated  in  the  different  phases  of 
insect  life.  So  very  striking  are  some  of  these  coincidences 
that  we  can  not  avoid  the  inference  that  the  social  customs 
of  society  wei'e  originally  borrowed  directly  from  Nature, 
and  that  there  was  a  time  when  man  and  beast  alike  fol- 
lowed only  Nature's  teaching.  The  more  artificial  become 
our  habits  and  customs,  the  farther  removed  they  are  from 
the  purity  and  simplicity  of  nature,  and  the  more  depend- 
ent upon  a  conceited  and  hollow-hearted  hypocrisy. 

Among  the  insects  we  have  already  noticed  some  of  the 
monarchs  and  aristocrats,  the  tyrants  and  the  brain-feeders. 
Now  we  come  to  a  peaceful  working  class,  bound  together 
by  a  community  of  interest,  and  all  laboring  together  for 
the  common  good.  "The  Tent-caterpillars  are  the  purest 
Socialists  in  the  entomological  world,  and  there  is  more  of 
pleasure  to  be  derived  from  a  perusal  of  their  history  than 
from  that  of  many  a  country  and  nation  of  the  old  conti- 
nent ;  because  the  latter  is  so  filled  up  with  the  disgusting 
biographies  of  vile  despots,  their  crimes  and  wholesale  mur- 
dei's,  that  the  mind  revolts  from  its  contemplation.  But  in 
the  history  of  this  insect  tribe  we  see  something  that  re- 
minds us  of  our  own  free  country,  of  the  mutual  depend- 
ence of  the  States,  and  of  the  common  interests  that  makes 
us  ^^  E  pluribus  unum.''  God  grant  that  motto  may  ever 
float  upon  her  banners  and  be  engraved  upon  the  hearts  of 
her  people !  that  as  lier  history  has  been,  so  it  may  ever  be, 
the  purest  and  the  brightest  in  the  Book  of  Nations,  because 
the  truest  to  those  principles  of  charity  and  benevolence 
which  even  dumb  nature  teaches  us  are  the  best  calculated 
to  produce  general  happiness  and  prosperity !  that  as  we 
have  now  witnessed  how  union  and  harmony  augment  even 
the  smallest  things,  "  Concordia  res  pawce  crescunt,'''  we  may 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      171 

never  expei'ience  how  soon  disunion  and  discord  destroy  the 
greatest,  "  Discordia  maximce  dilabuniur." 

The  American  Tent-caterpillar  [Clisiocampa  Ameri- 
cana) is  a  small  insect  that  makes  its  abode  principally 
upon  the  apple  and  wild-cherry  tree.  As  soon  as  these 
trees  are  clothed  with  the  first  tender  leaves  of  spring  we 
may  observe  upon  some  of  the  twigs,  or  ^mailer  shoots  from 
the  main  trunk,  a  small  angular  web,  or  tent,  like  a  spider's 
web,  and  if  this  be  examined  we  shall  find  it  containing 
some  three  or  four  hundred  very  small  caterpillars.  These 
feed  upon  the  leaves  of  the'tree,  and  in  proportion  as  they 
grow  larger  in  size  their  tent  increases  in  circumference. 
These  caterpillars  increase  in  numbers  veiy  fast,  and  if  they 
are  not  destroyed  as  soon  as  first  discovered  they  will 
quickly  cover  all  the  branches,  and  in  fact  the  whole  tree, 
with  their  web-like  tents,  which  will  each  be  filled  with 
large  families,  the  offspring  of  one  mother.  Many  thou- 
sands of  these  individuals  live  upon  one  tree  in  social  com- 
panies, all  working  together  in  the  manufacture  of  their  wa- 
ter-proof habitations,  sleeping  together  at  night  securely,  for 
their  tents  are  entirely  impervious  to  any  kind  of  moisture, 
and  coming  out  regularly  twice  a  day  to  take  their  meals, 
unless  it  rains,  which  makes  a  day  of  fasting  for  them. 

These  caterpillars  all  issue  from  eggs  which  are  deposit- 
ed and  glued  around  the  twigs  of  the  tree  by  their  mother 
during  the  preceding  summer.  The  eggs  laid  by  one  single 
female  generally  exceed  three  hundred  in  number. 

The  head  of  this  caterpillar  is  black  ;  its  body  is  whitish, 
lined  with  black  and  yellow  stripes,  and  clothed  with  a  few 
soft  hairs.  It  attains  its  growth  in  about  seven  weeks,  and 
then  is  nearly  two  inches  long.  Toward  the  latter  part  of 
June  they  make  their  cocoons  in  crevices,  and  about  three 
weeks  afterward  are  metamorphosed  into  moths,  which  are 
of  a  reddish-brown  color,  having  wings  which  expand  one 
and  a  half  inches. 


172  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

This  moth  was  called  by  the  late  Dr.  Harris,  of  Cam- 
bridge, Clisiocam2')a  Americana,  and  belongs  strictly  to  the 
nocturnal  lepidoptera.  It  is  often  seen  in  large  numbers, 
dui'ing  the  month  of  July,  entering  our  rooms  in  the  even- 
ing, flying  around  the  light,  and  often  being  punished  for 
its  temerity  by  burning  its  wings  and  body.  In  the  same 
month  its  female  deposits  her  eggs  upon  a  tree,  gluing  them 
"with  a  gummy,  water-proof  substance  around  the  extremity 
of  some  branch,  and  leaving  them,  during  the  whole  autumn 
and  winter,  exposed  to  the  inclemency  of  rain,  frost,  and 
snow,  without  the  slightest  injury. 

Early  in  the  spi'ing,  however,  the  caterpillars  begin  to  is- 
sue, full  of  life  and  vitality,  and  immediately  commence 
erecting  their  tents  in  unison  with  several  families  of  the 
same  species,  and,  if  not  at  once  destroyed,  very  soon  sur- 
round a  whole  tree,  and  for  seven  or  eight  weeks  devour  its 
leaves,  until  all  its  verdure  and  fruit  is  destroyed,  and  its  vi- 
tality— at  least  for  the  season — ruined.  In  this  way  large 
orchards  of  the  finest  apple-trees  fall  to  decay  before  the 
ravages  of  this  little  caterpillar. 

In  order  to  avoid  this,  and  get  rid  of  such  pernicious  in- 
sects, we  must  destroy  their  eggs  and  caterpillars.  We  must 
examine  our  apple-trees  in  the  month  of  December,  or  after 
the  foliage  has  fallen  to  the  ground,  and  crush  all  the  eggs 
Avhich  we  find  at  the  extremities  of  the  branches.  We  must 
look  again  in  April  and  May,  and  destroy  their  webs  as  soon 
as  they  are  formed,  and  kill  their  caterpillars,  reaching  those 
upon  the  highest  branches  with  a  long  pole,  at  the  end  of 
which  should  be  fastened  a  sponge  or  rag  moistened  with 
soapsuds  or  whitewash.  If  this  be  turned  around  and 
through  the  web  it  will  bring  it,  with  the  caterpillars,  to 
the  ground,  when  they  can  easily  be  killed. 

To  be  effectual,  this  operation  must  be  done  at  seven  or 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  or  at  noon,  when  all  the  cat- 
erpillars are  in  their  tents ;    for  they  are  very  regular  in 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      178 

their  habits,  and  can  easily  be  found  at  liome,  as  they  all 
go  out  to  their  meals  regularly  at  nine  a.m.,  then  return 
toward  mid-day,  and  go  out  again  at  three  o'clock  p.m., 
and  return  as  soon  as  they  have  eaten.  This  destructive 
insect  is  found  in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  and  people  having 
gardens  or  orchards  should  be  careful  to  prevent  its  rav- 
ages by  destroying  it  in  season. 

The  Wood-tent  Caterpillar  {Clisiocampa  sijlvatica)  is 
another  not  less  noxious  insect,  gaining  its  own  livelihood 
in  the  same  destructive  manner  upon  walnut  and  oak  trees, 
although  it  is  not  unfrequently  found  also  upon  apple  and 
cherry  trees.  When  full  grown,  in  June,  it  is  about  two 
inches  long.  Its  head  and  body  are  light  blue,  and  its  sides 
somewhat  of  a  greenish  color.  It  makes  its  cocoon  and 
webs  in  the  same  manner  as  the  px'eceding  ones,  and  some- 
times destroys  whole  orchards  and  large  tracts  of  forests. 

The  moths  are  of  a  dark -brown  color,  and  its  wings  ex- 
pand about  one  and  a  half  inches. 

The  webs  of  these  two  species  of  caterpillars  are  made 
of  the  finest  silk,  and  if  properly  collected  and  spun  it  could 
be  manufactured  into-  fine  silk  stockings  or  gloves — a  profit- 
able amusement  for  the  ladies  spending  the  summer  in  the 
country.     , 

Span-iuormSk 

The  Span-worms  are  little  caterpillars,  very  injurious  to 
vegetation,  but  quite  harmless  to  man,  although  they  are 
very  annoying  to  all  who  walk  through  our  orchards  or 
parks  during  the  month  of  June,  by  swinging  against  the 
face  as  they  hang  on  the  silken  thread  by  which  they  let 
themselves  down  to  the  ground  from  the  trees.  The  pai'ks 
and  promenades  of  our  large  cities — New  York,  Philadel- 
phia, Boston,  etc. — abound  with  them,  and  they  really  af- 
ford a  serious  inconvenience  to  promenaders,  and  not  un- 
frequently cause  considera"ble  fear  to  the  timid  upon  whom 


174  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

they  may  alight.  They  particularly  infest  these  places,  be- 
cause there  are  so  few  of  the  birds  there  which  feed  par- 
ticularly upon  them. 

But  the  ravages  of  these  insects  are  not  confined  to  our 
shade  trees,  for  they  feed  also  upon  the  leaves  of  our  fruit 
trees,  as  well  as  of  elms,  poplar,  lime,  and  other  trees. 
When  fully  grown  they  are  forced  by  nature  to  go  to  the 
ground,  in  order  there  to  undergo  their  metamorphosis  into 
a  cocoon ;  and  as  they  are  not  provided  with  sixteen  feet, 
like  other  caterpillars,  they  are  very  poor  pedestrians,  and 
find  it  much  easier  to  let  themselves  down  to  the  ground  by 
means  of  the  silken  thread  which  issues  from  their  mouth 
as  they  need  it.  They  sometimes  descend  from  a  height 
of  more  than  fifty  feet  in  a  few  moments,  while,  if  they  were 
obliged  to  depend  upon  their  ten,  or,  at  most,  twelve  legs, 
the  journey  would  occupy  them  several  days. 

Caterpillai's  generally  have  sixteen  legs,  or  feet,  placed  at 
equal  distances  along  the  under  part  of  the  body ;  but  these 
have  only  five  or  six  feet  at  each  extremity,  and  none  under 
the  middle,  so  that  when  they  walk  they  stand  on  the  hind 
feet,  and  throw  their  fore  feet  and  body  as  far  ahead  as  its 
length  will  allow ;  then,  standing  on  their  forefeet,  they  draw 
up  the  hind  ones  to  them,  making  an  arch  of  the  footless 
centre  of  the  body.  This  process,  it  is  evident,  must  be 
slow ;  and  it  is  probably  on  account  of  this  singular  method 
of  locomotion,  which  resembles  somewhat  that  of  spanning 
or  measuring,  that  they  received  from  Linnseus  the  name 
Geometrce,  and  from  other  authors  the  names  "Measurers," 
"Span-worms,"  and  "Tailors." 

In  the  United  States  we  find  a  great  variety  of  these 
caterpillars,  all  of  which  are  in  their  season  metamorphosed 
into  small  moths,  the  most  conspicuous  of  which  is : 

The  QAi>iKEK-vro^'yL{Anisopteryx  pometaria).  The  cater- 
pillars of  this  moth  are  usually  hatched  from  their  eggs  in 
the  spring,  and  when  very  young  are  of  a  dark-brown  color, 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.     175 

with  a  yellowish  stripe  on  both  sides  ;  but  when  fully  grown 
they  are  about  one  inch  long,  and  vaiy  in  color,  some  being 
greenish-yellow,  and  others  green,  with  small  black  spots 
upon  the  back.  They  are  generally  found  in  the  most 
abundance  upon  apple-trees,  but  also  devour  the  leaves, 
buds,  and  blossoms  of  plum,  cherry,  and  other  fruit  trees, 
as  well  as  those  of  many  ornamental  and  shade  trees. 

The  Canker-worm  has  but  ten  feet,  and,  on  account  of 
its  difficult  locomotion,  is  not  much  disposed  to  promenade, 
but,  when  not  occupied  at  meals,  lies  stretched  out  upon  a 
twig,  like  an  Italian  or  Mexican  enjoying  the  Dolce  far 
niente — "the  luxury  of  doing  nothing."  About  the  middle 
of  June,  or  when  four  weeks  old,  they  usually  descend  from 
the  tree  either  by  slowly  dragging  their  length  along  down 
the  trunk,  or  more  commonly  by  letting  themselves  down 
on  their  silken  cord,  like  a  rope-dancer,  and  enter  the 
ground  to  the  depth  of  several  inches,  there  to  metamorph- 
ose into  cocoons.  In  the  autumn  they  issue  from  the  co- 
coon as  perfect  moths,  the  male  of  which  is  only  provided 
with  wings,  of  an  ash  color,  which  expand  about  one  and 
a  quarter  inches.  The  female  is  wingless,  and  is  obliged 
to  perform  her  journey  as  well  as  she  can  on  foot  to  the 
nearest  tree,  not  one  of  her  numerous  male  admirers  being 
able  to  assist  her.  But  in  course  of  time  she  reaches  the 
tree,  climbs  up  its  trunk  and  branches,  and  there  deposits 
her  eggs  in  clusters  of  a  hundred  or  more,  which  she  then 
fastens  to  the  branch  or  twig  with  a  firm  covering  of  water- 
proof varnish.  There  the  eggs  remain,  perfectly  protected 
from  the  efiects  of  rain  and  cold,  until  the  ensuing  spring, 
when  the  caterpillars  are  hatched. 

The  Lime-tree  Span-worm  {Hihernia  tiliaria)  is  another 
kind  of  caterpillar,  abundantly  found  in  the  month  of  June 
upon  lime,  poplar,  elm,  and  apple  trees,  in  almost  all  our 
pai'ks,  woods,  and  gardens.  It  is  a  little  larger  than  the 
former,  being,  when  full  grown,  one  and  a  half  inches  long, 


176  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

of  a  light-yellow  color,  and  having  a  dark-red  head.  The 
fore  wings  of  the  moth  expand  one  and  three  quarter  inch- 
es, and  are  of  a  nankeen-yellow  color,  with  very  small  light- 
brown  dots  upon  them,  while  the  hind  wings  are  similar, 
but  much  paler.  The  female  of  this  moth  is  about  half  an 
inch  long,  and,  like  the  other  species,  has  no  wings.  Their 
manner  of  living  and  time  of  metamorphosis  is  about  the 
same  with  the  insect  just  described,  the  canker-worm,  and 
their  ravages  upon  the  foliage,  buds,  and  blossoms  of  lime, 
poplar,  and  elm  trees,  are  equally  ruinous  and  destructive. 
Many  of  these  trees,  as  also  some  fruit  trees,  are  entirely 
stripped  of  their  foliage  by  them,  and  ultimately  destroyed. 

The  ravages  of  these  two  species  of  insects  are  so  common, 
and  annually  do  so  much  injury  to  the  farmer,  the  gardener, 
and  the  horticulturist,  that  we  can  not  forbear  laying  before 
our  readers  some  of  the  methods  for  preventing  this  evil, 
which  we  think  judicious  and  effectual,  and,  rather  than  to 
use  our  own  words,  we  quote  from  the  work  of  the  late  Dr. 
Harris,  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  "  On  the  Insects  In- 
jurious to  Vegetation,"'  Boston,  1852. 

He  says,  page  363,  '•  In  order  to  protect  our  ti-ees  from 
the  ravages  of  canker-worms,  it  should  be  our  aim,  if  pos- 
sible, to  prevent  the  wingless  females  from  ascending  the 
trees  to  deposit  their  eggs.  This  can  be  done  by  the  ap- 
plication of  tar  around  the  body  of  the  tree,  either  directly 
on  the  bark,  as  has  been  the  most  common  practice,  or, 
what  is  better,  over  a  broad  belt  of  clay  mortar,  or  on  strips 
of  old  canvas,  or  of  strong  paper  from  six  to  twelve  inches 
wide,  fastened  around  the  ti'unk  with  strings.  The  tar 
must  be  applied  as  early  as  the  first  of  November,  and  per- 
haps in  October,  and  it  should  be  renewed  daily  as  long  as 
the  insects  continue  rising ;  after  which  the  bands  may  be 
removed,  and  the  tar  should  be  entirely  scraped  from  the 
bark.  When  all  this  has  been  properly  and  seasonably  done, 
it  has  proved  effectual.     The  time,  labor,  and  expense  at- 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.     177 

tending  the  use  of  tar,  and  the  injury  it  does  to  the  trees, 
when  allowed  to  run  and  remain  on  the  bark,  have  caused 
many  persons  to  neglect  this  method,  and  some  to  try  vari- 
ous modifications  of  it  and  other  expedients. 

"  Among  the  modifications  may  be  mentioned  a  horizontal 
and  close-fitting  collar  of  boards,  fastened  around  the  trunk, 
and  smeared  beneath  with  tar ;  or,  four  boards  nailed  togeth- 
er like  a  box,  without  top  or  bottom,  around  the  base  of  the 
tree,  to  receive  the  tar  on  the  outside.  This  can  be  used  to 
protect  a  few  choice  trees  in  a  garden,  or  around  a  house, 
or  a  public  square,  but  will  be  found  too  expensive  to  be 
applied  to  any  great  extent.  Collars  of  tin-plate  fastened 
around  the  ti'ee,  and  sloping  downward  like  an  inverted 
tunnel,  have  been  proposed,  upon  the  supposition  that  the 
moths  would  not  be  able  to  creep  in  an  inverted  position 
beneath  the  smooth  and  sloping  surface.  This  method  will 
also  prove  too  expensive  for  general  adoption,  even  should 
it  be  found  to  answer  the  purpose.  A  belt  of  cotton-wool, 
which  it  has  been  thought  would  entangle  the  feet  of  the 
insects,  and  thus  keep  them  from  ascending  the  trees,  has 
not  proved  an  effectual  bar  to  them.  Little  square  or  cir- 
cular troughs  of  tin,  or  of  lead,  filled  with  cheap  fish-oil, 
and  placed  around  the  trees,  three  feet  or  more  above  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  with  a  stuffing  of  cloth,  hay,  or  sea- 
weed between  them  and  the  trunk,  have  long  been  used  by 
various  persons  with  good  success ;  and  the  only  objection 
to  them  is  the  cost  of  the  troughs,  the  difficulty  of  fixing 
and  keeping  them  in  their  places,  and  the  injury  suffered  by 
the  trees  when  the  oil  is  washed  or  blown  out,  and  falls 
upon  the  bark.  Mr.  Jonathan  Denis,  Jun.,  of  Portsmouth, 
Rhode  Island,  has  obtained  a  patent  for  a  circular  leaden 
trough  to  contain  oil,  offering  some  advantages  over  those 
that  have  heretofore  been  used,  although  it  does  not  en- 
tirely prevent  the  escape  of  the  oil,  and  the  nails  with 
which  it  is  secured  are  found  to  be  injurious  to  the  trees. 
H2 


178  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

These  troughs  ought  not  to  be  nailed  to  the  trees,  but 
should  be  supported  by  a  few  wooden  Avedges  driven  be- 
tween them  and  the  trunks.  A  stuffing  of  cotton,  cloth,  or 
tow  should  never  be  used ;  sea-weed  and  fine  hay,  which 
will  not  absorb  the  oil,  are  much  better.  Before  the  troughs 
are  fastened  and  filled,  the  body  of  the  tree  should  be  well 
coated  with  clay,  paint,  or  whitewash,  to  absorb  the  oil 
that  may  fall  upon  it.  Care  should  be  taken  to  renew  the 
oil  as  often  as  it  escapes,  or  becomes  filled  with  the  insects. 
These  troughs  will  be  found  more  economical  and  less  trou- 
blesome than  the  application  of  tar,  and  may  safely  be  rec- 
ommended and  employed  if  proper  attention  is  given  to  the 
precautions  above  named.  Some  persons  fasten  similar 
troughs,  to  contain  oil,  around  the  outer  sides  of  an  open 
box,  inclosing  the  base  of  the  tree,  and  a  projecting  ledge  is 
nailed  on  the  edge  of  the  box  to  shed  the  rain :  by  this  con- 
trivance all  danger  of  hurting  the  tree  with  the.  oil  is  en- 
tirely avoided." 

In  the  Manchester  Guardian,  an  English  newspaper,  of  the 
4th  of  November,  1846,  is  the  following  article  on  the  use 
of  melted  India  rubber  to  prevent  insects  from  climbing  up 
the  trees :  "  At  the  late  meeting  of  the  Entomological  So- 
ciety of  London,  Mr.  J.  H.  Fennel  communicated  the  fol- 
lowing successful  mode  of  preventing  insects  ascending  the 
trunks  of  fruit  trees:  Let  a  piece  of  India  rubber  be  burned 
over  a  gallipot,  into  which  it  will  gradually  di'op  in  the 
condition  of  a  viscid  juice,  which  state,  it  appears,  it  will 
always  retain ;  for  Mr.  Pennel  has  at  the  present  time 
some  which  has  been  melted  for  upward  of  a  year,  and  has 
been  exposed  to  all  weathers  without  undergoing  the  slight- 
est change.  Having  melted  the  India  rubber,  let  a  piece 
of  cord  or  worsted  be  smeared  with  it,  and  then  tied  sev- 
eral times  around  the  trunk.  This  melted  substance  is  so 
very  sticky  that  the  insects  will  be  prevented,  and  can  be 
captured,  jn  their  attempts  to  pass  over  it.     About  three 


ORDER  tV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      179 

penny-worth  of  India  rubber  is  sufficient  for  the  protection 
of  twenty  ordinary-sized  fruit  trees." 

These  are  about  all  the  directions  necessary  to  give  for 
preventing  the  ravages  of  insects  injurious  to  our  trees ; 
and,  if  they  are  carefully  and  perseveringly  followed  out, 
will  be  effectual  in  saving  many  a  fine  orchard  from  desola- 
tion and  decay.  There  surely  can  be  no  farmer  unable  to 
avail  himself  of  some  of  the  simple  contrivances  mentioned, 
and  thus  save  his  capital  and  his  labor. 

The  Apple-worm  {Carpocapsa  pomonella),  which  is  so  oft- 
en found  in  apples,  pears,  plums,  and  apricots,  is  a  flesh-col- 
ored, naked  caterpillar,  half  an  inch  long  when  fully  grown, 
with  a  black  head  and  sixteen  feet.  It  issues  from  an  egg, 
deposited  upon  the  fruit  by  its  mother  in  the  month  of  June 
or  July,  and  as  soon  as  it  is  hatched  works  its  way  through 
the  skin  and  lives  in  the  fruit  about  three  weeks ;  then  it 
gnaws  its  way  out,  falls  to  the  ground,  and,  creeping  to 
some  retired  place,  is  there  metamorphosed  into  a  thin,  silky 
cocoon^  from  which  it  issues  in  a  few  days  as  a  perfect 
moth,  when  it  again  lays  its  eggs,  from  which  a  second 
generation  arise  to  mar  and  destroy  our  fall  and  winter 
apples. 

The  wings  of  this  moth  expand  only  three  quarters  of  an 
inch,  and  are  of  a  light,  yellowish-brown  color.  The  fruit 
which  it  infects,  or  upon  which  it  lays  its  eggs,  usually  falls 
to  the  ground  before  it  is  fully  ripe,  and  before  the  cater- 
pillar hatched  from  the  eggs  is  ready  for  its  metamorphosis 
into  a  cocoon.  Hence,  in  order  to  destroy  them,  they  may 
be  collected  by  hanging  old  clothes  about  the  trees,  and  the 
caterpillars  will  creep  into  them  for  the  purpose  of  making 
their  cocoons,  or  the  fruit  should  be  gathered  as  soon  as  it 
falls  and  boiled  up,  thus  destroying  the  second  generation. 

Now  this  moth,  altogether  an  insignificant-looking  afiair, 
is  not  only  capable  of  doing  a  vast  amount  of  injury,  but  it 
possesses  remarkable  instinct,  or  is  endowed  with  wonder- 


180  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

ful  properties  of  reason  and  judgment.  How  many  persons 
who  have  fomid  a  disgusting  Httle  woi-m  in  an  apple  have 
ever  thought  that  they  never  can  find  but  one  in  each  ap- 
ple? Yet  so  it  is.  How  many  have  ever  dreamed  that 
that  worm,  if  allowed  to  live,  would  become  a  moth,  and 
reproduce  itself  over  and  over  again,  and  yet  among  the 
myriads  of  such  insects  there  Avould  be  deposited  but  one 
egg  on  each  fruit?  How  do  other  moths  know  that  there 
is  an  egg  ali'eady  deposited  there,  or  that  there  is  already  a 
caterpillar  within  the  fruit  ?  How  do  they  know  their  eggs 
will  not  fructify  upon  ground  already  occupied  by  another  ? 
Is  it  instinct  or  reason  teaches  them  these  things,  and  marks 
their  course  with  so  much  accuracy? 

Again,  look  at  another  phenomenon  connected  with  this 
wonderful  little  caterpillar.  Cut  an  apple  open  that  con- 
tains one  of  these  inhabitants,  and  you  see  the  whole  quan- 
tity of  its  black,  granular  excrements  tied  together  by  silky 
filaments,  produced  by  this  worm,  in  order  to  prevent  these 
minute  grains  from  rolling  about  and  impeding  its  motions. 
Is  not  this  contrivance,  thought,  design  ?  Is  it  reason  or  in- 
stinct that  guides  their  tiny  but  wonderful  course  ?  Were 
these  little  bubbles  of  foam  on  Life's  great  ocean  wafted  to 
our  barks  in  vain  ?  Were  these  animated  atoms  sent  crawl- 
ing on  the  choicest  fruit  that  we  gather  with  our  hands,  or 
carry  to  our  mouths,  to  exhibit  in  their  ephemeral  existence 
only  a  striking  illustration  of  Nature's  nice  adaptation  of 
means  to  an  end  ? 

Or  were  they  created,  solitary  preachers  on  each  little 
globe  of  fruit,  which  falls  like  manna  from  above,  to  teach 
us  some  great  moral  lesson  ?  Come  they  into  our  very 
faces  to  remind  us  how  "  dearly  we  pay  for  the  primal 
fall?"  Do  they  inhabit  the  finest  specimens  of  that  fruit 
by  which  our  first  mother  was  tempted,  in  order  to  bid  us 
taste  the  viands  of  Eden,  and  make  us  feel  that  "  the  trail 
of  the  serpent  hangs  over  them  all?" 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      181 

Truly  a  worm  may  teach  us  many  things !  'Tis  a  little 
index,  but,  like  the  needle  to  the  pole,  it  points  to  the  hand 
Divine ! 

The  Bee-moth  (Galleria  ccreana). 

The  Bee-moth  is  another  wonderful  little  insect,  capable 
of  doing  much  injury,  and  possessing  curious  developments 
of  instinct.  It  seems  scarcely  possible  that  a  large  army  of 
bees,  defended  by  deadly  stings  such  as  they  possess,  should 
allow  a  few  small  soft-bodied  and  unarmed  caterpillars  to 
enter  and  destroy  their  fortified  castles.  Yet  this  is  the  case. 
Notwithstanding  their  weakness,  and  entire  lack  of  means 
to  defend  themselves,  the  larvae  of  the  bee-moth  will  enter 
and  so  corrode  the  honey-combs  as  to  force  the  bees  to  aban- 
don their  hive. 

More  than  two  thousand  years  ago  these  moths  were 
mentioned  by  Aristotle,  who  says  of  them :  They  fly  in  the 
night  toward  a  light,  and  are  very  fond  of  eating  beeswax, 
for  which  purpose  they  go  to  the  bee-hives  and  there  de- 
posit their  excrements,  out  of  which  proceed  little  worms. 
Colomela  also  declares  them  to  be  the  most  terrible  ene- 
mies to  bees. 

The  caterpillar  of  the  bee-moth  has  sixteen  feet.  Its 
body  is  yellowish-white,  its  head  brown,  and  its  length, 
when  fully  grown,  a  little  mor«  than  an  inch.  It  feeds 
upon  the  beeswax,  and  their  tiny  insect  stomachs  will  di- 
gest what  a  learned  chemist  could  not  analyze.  Their  life 
is  one  of  continual  exposure  to  the  greatest  danger,  for  woe 
to  the  individual  that  is  caught  by  a  bee.  They  seem  to 
know,  however,  that  they  subsist  at  the  expense  of  a  power- 
ful and  warlike  population  who  admit  no  strangers  within 
their  republican  domain ;  and  as  their  tender,  unprotected 
skins  would  be  constantly  exposed  to  the  fatally-venomous 
stings  of  the.  enraged  bees.  Nature  has  taught  them  to  dig  a 
mine  in  the  wax,  and  thus  supply  themselves  with  both 


182  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

clothing  for  their  naked  bodies,  food  for  their  sustenance, 
and  a  safe  dwelling  at  the  same  time. 

The  excavated  passage  which  this  caterpillar  makes  in 
the  wax  is  generally  as  large  round  as  a  man's  finger,  and 
often  a  foot  long ;  the  inside  of  it  is  thoroughly  tapestried 
with  a  strong,  but  soft  and  smooth,  white  silky  substance, 
and  the  outside  is  covered  over  with  pieces  of  wax  mixed 
with  excrements,  so  that  nothing  is  seen  of  the  silken  pas- 
sage, and  the  bees  have  no  idea  of  its  existence.  Even  if 
they  had  cognizance  of  it,  they  would  be  unable  to  sting 
through  such  thick  walls  and  penetrate  the  firm  silky  lining 
of  the  passage. 

In  order  to  learn  the  habits,  and  watch  closely  the  opera- 
tions of  these  injurious  insects,  we  may  select  a  hive  which 
has  been  abandoned  by  bees,  or  where  the  bees  have  died 
during  the  wintex*.  By  taking  out  some  of  these  larvai  and 
putting  them  upon  the  comb,  we  shall  see  that,  after  running 
about  a  while,  they  will  begin  to  dig  a  new  mine,  or,  if  it  is 
their  time,  to  spin  a  cocoon  one  inch  long,  which  they  will 
immediately  surround  with  dirt  and  small  pieces  of  wax. 
They  generally  make  their  cocoons  in  the  beginning  of  the 
month  of  June,  and  the  moths  then  issue  from  them  at  the 
end  of  the  same  month. 

The  male  of  this  moth  has  gray  fore  wings,  and  yellowish- 
gray  hind  wings.  He  is  smaller  than  the  female,  whose 
wings  are  darker,  particularly  the  hind  ones,  and  expand 
about  one  and  a  quarter  inches.  Unfortunately,  both  are 
seen  in  abundance  early  in  May,  as  well  as  in  August,  and 
hence  we  may  conclude  that  there  are  two  successive  gen- 
erations of  them  in  one  year.  The  female  deposits  her  eggs 
at  that  time  of  night  when  the  bees  are  at  rest,  and  near 
the  opening  of  the  hive,  or  in  some  adjacent  cracks,  and  as 
soon  as  the  diminutive  caterpillars  are  hatched  they  imme- 
diately gnaw  a  passage  under  its  edges. 

There  is  still  another  way  of  observing  minutely  their 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.     183 

operations,  the  result  of  which  is  very  surprising.  Place 
some  of  these  caterpillars,  or  moths,  in  a  large  glass  vessel 
covered  with  gauze,  and  provide  them  with  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  beeswax  as  food,  and  after  the  wax  is  consumed 
they  will  eat  paper,  dried  leaves,  and  even  woolen  cloth, 
but  only  after  they  have  eaten,  digested,  and  several  times 
re-eaten  their  excrements,  which  after  many  digestions  will 
be  reduced  to  a  black  dust,  from  which  they  afterward  fab- 
ricate tunnels.  In  this  manner  they  will  go  through  their 
various  metamorphoses,  multiplying  for  several  years  in  the 
glass  vessel,  without  requiring  any  care  or  new  supply  of 
food. 

These  moths  are  not  natives  of  America,  but,  like  the 
bees  upon  whose  products  they  live,  were  originally  foreign 
emigrants  from  Europe.  But  as  the  bees,  in  spite  of  their 
foreign  origin,  and  the  venomous  sting  they  bring  with  them 
to  defend  themselves  against  their  assailants,  have,  by  their 
great  practical  utility  and  long  residence  here,  become  natu- 
ralized citizens,  so  we  may  reckon  the  moths  and  their 
caterpillars  as  among  our  own  injurious  insects,  which  de- 
serve to  be  desti'oyed  by  any  means  in  our  power. 

In  Dr.  Thatcher's  "  Treatise  on  the  Management  of 
Bees,"  there  are  several  ways  mentioned  by  which  we  may 
get  rid  of  this  pest  of  the  bee-hive.  But  the  most  conven- 
ient and  least  troublesome  method  of  preventing  the  bee- 
moth  from  entering  the  hive  is  to  place  shallow  basins,  filled 
with  water  mixed  with  vinegar,  and  sweetened  with  honey, 
sugar,  or  molasses,  near  the  entrance  to  the  bee-hive,  and 
this  should  be  done  early  in  the  evening,  as  soon  as  the  bees 
have  gone  to  rest.  This,  too,  is  the  time  when  the  bee- 
moths  are  flying  about  seeking  a  place  to  deposit  their  eggs, 
and  as  they  are  very  fond  of  sweets,  a  great  number  of  them 
will  be  drowned. 


184  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

The  Grain-worm ;  or,  White  Corn-worm  (Tinea  cerealella). 

This  is  another  very  injurious  insect,  also  originally  an 
emigrant  from  the  Old  World. 

Grain  is  devoured,  as  is  well  known,  by  different  species 
of  larvEe,  some  of  which  are  metamorphosed  into  snout- 
beetles,  as  the  Rice-weevil,  or  Black  Corn-worm  {Calandra 
granaria)',  others  into  flies,  as  the  Hessian-fly  {Cecidomyia 
destructor),  or  the  wheat-fly  {Cecidomyia  tritici).  These,  of 
course,  can  only  be  mentioned  incidentally  here,  as  we  are 
treating  of  moths,  and  must  continue  the  natural  history 
of  the  Grain-moth. 

The  female  of  this  species  is  very  active  in  the  months 
of  May  and  June,  when  she  comes  out  of  neglected  gran- 
aries ;  and,  flying  about  with  her  male  attendant  at  night, 
she  deposits  her  eggs  upon  the  grains  of  wheat,  barley,  rye, 
and  oats.  From  these  eggs,  in  a  short  time,  proceed  dimin- 
utive, yellowish-white,  naked  caterpillars,  with  a  brown 
head,  which  immediately  commence  their  devastations 
among  the  grain.  With  a  silky  thread  they  fasten  together 
several  grains,  and  between  them  make  numerous  holes  or 
passages  in  which  they  can  securely  reside.  By  so  doing 
the  little  animal  has  built  for  itself  a  very  comfortable,  and 
even  substantial  dwelling ;  for  if  it  should  roll  down  the 
grain-heap  or  be  tossed  about  in  a  cart,  its  body  is  still  in- 
closed in  a  soft  fold  of  silk,  and  would  not  suffer  at  all. 
Here  they  feed  upon  the  mealy  substance  of  the  grain  for 
about  three  weeks,  when  they  arrive  at  maturity,  at  which 
period  they  are  about  the  fifth  part  of  an  inch  long.  Then, 
changing  into  a  chrysalis  within  the  empty  grain,  they  are 
soon  transformed  into  small,  winged  moths  of  a  cinnamon- 
brown  color.  Two  successive  generations  of  this  insect  are 
developed  every  year. 

The  French  naturalist,  M.  Bosc,  who  spent  several  years 
in  the  United  States,  in  1796  found  this  moth  so  abundant 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      185 

in  Carolina  that  they  would  extinguish  the  flame  of  a 
candle  when  he  went  into  a  granary  with  one  at  night. 
And  Dr.  Harris  says:  "The  grain-moth  has  spread  from 
North  Carolina  and  Vii'ginia,  where  its  depredations  were 
first  observed,  into  Kentucky  and  the  southern  parts  be- 
tween the  thirty-sixth  and  fortieth  degrees  of  north  lati- 
tude. But  these  are  not  the  extreme  limits  of  its  occasional 
depredations,  as  it  has  been  found  even  in  New  England, 
where,  however,  its  propagation  seems  to  have  been  limited 
by  the  length  and  severity  of  the  winters." 

Some  of  our  distinguished  agriculturists  have  written 
very  valuable  papers  upon  this  destructive  insect,  to  which 
those  who  choose  can  refer;  e.  g.,  Edwin  Ruffin,  Esq.,  of 
Hanover  county,  Virginia,  published  in  the  Farmer's  Regis- 
ter, for  November,  1833.  Mr.  Samuel  Judah,  of  Vincennes, 
Indiana,  in  the  Indiana  Farmer  and  Gardener,  for  October, 
1845.  Mr.  Richard  Owen,  of  New  Harmony,  Indiana,  in 
the  Oultivator,  for  July  and  November,  1846.  E.  Ruffin, 
Esq.,  in  the  American  Agriculturist,  for  February  and  March, 
1847. 

It  would  be  altogether  too  tedious  to  our  readers  to  enter 
into  the  minute  and  various  methods  of  destroying  these  in- 
sects and  preventing  their  ravages,  proposed  and  practiced 
by  the  above-named  gentlemen,  and  so  we  only  refer  to 
their  papers  for  the  sake  of  those  who  are  curious  on  the 
subject.  We  can  only  remark  in  this  place  that  one  process 
has  proved  effectual  in  destroying  the  insect  without  injur- 
ing the  grain,  according  to  our  own  personal  observations 
in  those  rich  grain  countries  of  Hungary,  Austrian  Gallicia, 
Poland,  and  Russia,  from  the  Neva,  down  through  the 
Ukraine  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Don  and  Volga,  on  the 
Black  and  Caspian  seas.  In  every  village  of  those  coun- 
tries there  are  large  kilns,  or  ovens,  where  the  grain  is  put 
as  soon  as  it  is  thrashed  out,  and  during  one  day  or  one 
night  is  exposed  to  a  temperature  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 


186  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

degrees  Fahrenheit,  by  which  process  all  caterpillars  in  or 
upon  the  grain  are  destroyed,  and  of  coui'se  further  propa- 
gation prevented.  Grain  brought  from  the  Russian  sea- 
ports Odessa  or  Riga  always  find  a  ready  market  for  ex- 
portation, on  account  of  their  excellent  quality  and  general 
freedom  from  the  ravages  of  insects.  In  Germany  they 
sprinkle  the  floors  of  their  granai'ies,  and  even  the  grain  it- 
self, with  salt  water,  and  overturn  the  grain  heaps  with 
shovels  as  often  as  possible. 

The  Carpet-moth  (Tinea  tapetzella). 

This  is  another  very  small,  but  very  annoying  and  trou- 
blesome moth.  It  has  dark-brown  fore  wings,  and  gray- 
ish-brown hind  wings.  It  flies  around  in  the  beginning  of 
summer,  depositing  its  eggs  in  carpets,  the  cloth  lining  of 
carriages,  and  woolen  clothes  generally.  Its  eggs  are  white 
and  round,  and  in  about  three  weeks  from  the  time  they  are 
laid  very  small  caterpillars  proceed  from  them,  which  are 
yellowish  white,  and  so  transparent  that  any  colored  stuff" — 
for  instance,  scarlet  cloth — eaten  by  them  is  distinctly  visi- 
ble in  their  bowels.  In  the  cloth  lining  of  carriages  we 
very  often  find  thread-bare  places,  which  are  made  by  these 
larvae,  who  bite  off  the  woolly  nap  of  the  cloth,  from  which 
they  manufacture  a  silky  cylinder-like  cover  over  their  bod- 
ies, open  at  one  end,  from  which  they  stretch  out  their 
head  when  eating  the  hair  of  the  wool.  They  form  their 
cocoons  in  much  the  same  manner  as  other  moths,  and  in 
about  two  weeks  after  are  again  metamorphosed  into  per- 
fect moths.  Beating  and  brushing  all  woolen  cloths  liable 
to  their  invasion  is  generally  sufficient  to  prevent  their  dep- 
redations. A  cedar  chest  is  also  said  to  afford  entire  pro- 
tection from  them  for  all  clothes  kept  in  it,  and  the  same  is 
true  if  woolens  be  wrapped  up  with  camphor,  or  sprinkled 
with  snuff"  or  tobacco  when  packed  away. 

But  our  limits  will  not  allow  further  notice  of  these 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      187 

smaller  species,  of  which  there  are  many  more,  and  we  con- 
clude, for  the  present,  our  history  of  the  nocturnal  lepi- 
doptera  with  a  brief  description  of  a  few  of 

The  Sphinxes,  or  Hawk-moths. 

When  the  summer  sun  has  sunk  below  the  glowing  hills, 
and  his  last  radiant  beams  are  fading  fi'om  the  western  ho- 
rizon ;  when  the  i-ed  Tanagers,  the  Cardinal  and  Blue  Birds, 
and  the  Orioles  and  llobins,  with  all  the  other  gay  song- 
sters of  the  day,  have  retired  to  their  resting-places  amidst 
the  silent  groves — then  the  sleepy  Sphinxes  awake  from 
their  diurnal  slumbers,  to  play  out  their  brief  parts  on  the 
narrow  stage  of  their  ephemeral  existence.  They  rise  at 
twilight,  and  ramble  with  the  humming  sound  and  the 
quick,  irregular  flight  of  Humming-birds,  flying  from  flower 
to  flower,  sucking  the  sweet  nectar  of  the  fragrant  night- 
blossoms  and  pursuing  their  bridal  sjDorts,  while  the  celes- 
tial shepherdess,  Luna,  is  watching  her  silvery  lambs  through 
the  blue  pastures  of  heaven. 

In  ancient  times,  when  Egyptian,  Greek,  and  Roman 
priests,  in  concert  with  despotic  rulers,  gained  their  wealth 
and  treasures  by  frightening  the  common  people  with  sto- 
ries of  gods  and  goddesses,  of  demi-gods  and  heroes,  of  Olym- 
pus and  Tartarus,  and  by  means  of  a  mythological  religion, 
full  of  mystic  symbols  and  incantations,  stupefied  the  cred- 
ulous populace,  and  rendered  them  subservient  to  their  will, 
we  find,  among  others,  the  mythological  tale  of  a  monster 
called  the  Sphinx,  who  is  represented  with  the  body  of  a 
lion  and  the  head  and  shoulders  of  a  woman,  sitting  upon 
the  hind  feet  like  a  dog. 

A  fanciful  resemblance  to  this  monster  was  seen  by  the 
fertile  imagination  of  Linnaeus  in  the  caterpillar  of  the  in- 
sects we  are  about  to  describe,  inasmuch  as  it  has  a  soft, 
effeminate-looking  body,  and  when  not  eating  assumes  a 
somewhat  similar  sitting  posture,  and  hence  he  called  it  a 


188 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


Sphinx.  After  its  last  transformation  into  a  winged  insect 
it  becomes  a  Hawk-moth,  so  called  because  while  sucking 
the  nectar  from  the  cups  of  flowers  it  is  hovering  in  the  air 
like  a  hawk.  It  is  also  called  by  some  the  Humming-bird 
Hawk-moth,  from  the  humming  sound  which  it  produces 
with  its  wings,  and  by  rubbing  its  horny  proboscis  upon  the 
small  glassy  membrane  beneath  it. 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      189 

Most  of  the  hawk-moths  are  seen  only  during  some  hours 
after  sunset,  but  some  smaller  genera  are  also  seen  flying 
about  during  the  day.  Notwithstanding  this,  Linnteus  calls 
them  all  evening  butterflies. 

The  Potato  -  AVOKJi  Hawk -moth,  or  Five -spotted 
Sphinx  {Sphinx  quinque-maculatus),  Fig.  44,  is  a  large  green 
caterpillar,  with  oblique  white  stripes  on  each  side ;  when 
full  grown,  it  is  more  than  three  inches  long.  It  is  found 
not  only  on  the  potato-vine,  but  also  on  the  tomato  and 
egg  plants ;  and  it  also  feeds  upon  the  leaves  of  every  spe- 
cies of  the  solanum,  or  night-shade  tribe.  Here  it  is  found 
from  July  to  September,  Avhen  it  digs  its  Avinter  retreat 
several  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  there 
metamorphoses  itself  into  a  brown  chrysalis,  upon  which 
may  be  distinctly  seen  the  long  case  of  its  proboscis,  resem- 
bling somewhat  the  handle  of  a  pitcher. 

The  Five-spotted  Hawk-moth  issues  from  this  chrysalis 
in  May  or  June.  It  is  of  a  grayish  color,  and  its  body  is 
ornamented  with  five  orange-colored  spots  on  each  side. 
Its  wings  expand  nearly  five  inches.  Its  head  is  provided 
with  two  cylindrical  antenna?,  and  a  proboscis  or  tongue, 
which  is  almost  entirely  concealed  when  not  in  use,  but 
which  can  be  unrolled,  like  the  spring  of  a  watch,  to  the 
length  of  five  or  six  inches.  This  proboscis  consists  of  two 
parts,  which  can  easily  be  separated,  but  which,  Avhen  united 
together  as  usual,  forms  a  hollow  tube,  through  which  the 
animal  is  enabled  to  suck  the  nectar  of  flowers,  and  with 
which  it  also  produces  a  humming  sound  by  rubbing  it 
upon  the  diminutive  glassy  membrane  at  its  base. 

There  is  no  insect  that  possesses  a  voice ;  and  when  we 
hear  sounds  produced  by  insects,  we  may  know  that  they 
originate  from  friction  of  some  external  parts  of  the  body, 
as  is  the  case,  for  instance,  with  some  of  the  Capricorn 
beetles,  who  rub  the  joints  of  the  head  against  the  thorax ; 
or  with  grasshoppers,  who  produce  a  sound  by  bringing 


190  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

their  spiny  legs  in  contact  with  their  wings ;  or  with 
crickets,  by  rubbing  their  wings  together;  and  with  flies 
and  the  different  species  of  bees,  who  make  a  noise  by  the 
rapid  motion  of  their  wings. 

Among  many  others  we  have  every  year  attempted  to 
raise  a  number  of  these  handsome  caterpilhirs,  but  have 
often  been  unsuccessful  in  bringing  them  to  their  final 
metamorphosis,  because,  as  soon  as  they  were  full  grown, 
they  ceased  to  take  food,  became  sick,  and  died.  In  such 
cases  we  have  noticed  the  surface  of  their  bodies  com- 
pletely covered  with  small,  shining,  white  silky-looking 
grains,  resembling  minute  seeds,  and  if  one  fell  off  its  place 
was  immediately  supplied  by  another.  These  white  specks 
were  the  silky  cocoons  of  diminutive  ichneumon-flies, 
whose  mother  had  stung  the  poor  caterpillar  when  very 
young,  and  deposited  many  hundreds  of  eggs  in  as  many 
hundred  wounds.  The  larvae  proceeding  from  these  eggs 
dwell  between  the  skin  and  the  fat  of  the  caterpillar,  on 
which  they  feed,  being  very  careful  not  to  attack  any  vital 
part  of  the  body.  Thus  the  unfortunate  caterpillar  is  for 
several  weeks  being  slowly  devoured,  while  it  continues  to 
eat  and  to  grow  for  the  benefit  of  its  tormentors,  until  all 
its  fat  is  consumed  by  these  parasites,  when,  having  no 
strength  or  vitality  left  with  which  to  accomplish  its  meta- 
morphosis, it  lingers  along  a  few  days,  shrinks  to  the  fourth 
part  of  its  former  size,  and  finally  dies  in  agony.  Then 
the  small  cocoons  of  the  ichneumon-flies  fall  to  the  ground, 
and  a  few  days  after  assume  their  perfect  form,  and  fly 
about,  after  the  example  of  their  mothers,  to  seek  new 
victims. 

While  on  the  subject  of  Hawk-moths,  we  can  not  omit  a 
brief  incidental  notice  of  one  species,  which  is  a  native  of 
the  southern  parts  of  Europe,  because  even  now  it  spreads 
a  general  terror  among  the  ignorant  and  superstitious. 
And  we  do  this  the  more  willingly,  because  many  Ameri- 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      19i 

can  travelers  are  constantly  visiting  the  transatlantic  coun- 
tries, and  may  meet  with  this  beautiful  but  much  maligned 
insect. 

It  is  a  large  Hawk-moth,  with  yellow  wings  variegated 
with  black,  and  on  the  thorax  it  bears  a  mark  which  some- 
what resembles  a  human  skull — on  which  account  it  is 
called  the  Death's-head  Hawk-moth.  It  first  attracted 
attention  during  the  prevalence  of  a  severe  and  fatal  epi- 
demic, and  of  course  nothing  more  was  necessary  than  its 
appearance  at  such  a  time  to  induce  an  ignorant  people  to 
believe  it  the  veritable  prophet  and  forerunner  of  death. 
A  curate  in  3?retagne,  France,  made  a  most  horrible  and 
fear-exciting  description  of  this  animal,  describing  the  very 
loud  and  dreadful  sound  which  it  emitted  as  a  sort  of  lam- 
entation for  the  awful  calamity  which  was  coming  on  the 
earth. 

This  is  but  another  proof  that,  were  the  great  mass  of  the 
people  better  educated  in  Entomology,  they  would  escape 
much  imposition,  and  avoid  much  imaginary  suffering,  and 
much  real  but  unnecessary  fear  of  the  harmless  creatures 
around  them.  This  moth  has  no  mouth  to  bite  with,  and 
is  no  more  injurious  to  vegetation  than  the  others  of  its 
species.  The  sound  it  produces  is  very  much  like  that 
made  by  mice,  but  has  a  more  pitiful  tone,  and  is  much 
louder,  if  yau  put  it  in  a  box  or  hold  it  between  your  fin- 
gers. Any  one  may  determine  the  origin  of  the  sound, 
however,  by  uncoiling  its  proboscis  and  stretching  it  out 
with  a  pin,  when  all  sound  ceases  at  once ;  but  let  the  ani- 
mal coil  up  its  proboscis  again,  and  it  immediately  com- 
mences rubbing  it  against  the  glassy  membrane  beneath  it, 
and  the  sound  begins  again. 

The  caterpillar  of  this  moth,  when  full  grown,  is  about 
four  inches  long,  of  a  yellowish  color  with  black  spots,  and 
oblique  green  stripes  upon  each  side,  and  is  found  princi- 
pally, in  the  month  of  July,  in  England  on  the  jasmine ;  in 


192 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS'. 


Germany  on  the  potato-vine;  and  in  France,  Egypt,  and 
Asia,  on  the  thorn-apple  {Datura  stramonium). 

There  are  several  species  of  hawk-moth  caterpillars  found 
upon  our  garden  and  forest  trees,  on  grape-vines  and  other 
shrubs,  which  are  quite  injurious  to  vegetation,  but  which 
can  be  easily  seen  on  account  of  their  large  size,  and  de- 
stroyed without  much  trouble,  or  they  may  be  secured  in 
boxes  for  the  purpose  of  raising  their  beautiful  moths.  One 
of  these  injurious  insects  is  the  caterpillar  of 

The  Four-horned  Sphinx  {Ceratomia  quadricorms),  Fig. 

45,  which  is  generally 
found,  in  the  month  of 
July,  upon  our  lime, 
poplar,  and  especially 
elm-trees,  which  are 
frequently  stripped  en- 
tirely of  their  foliage 
by  its  ravages.  The 
beauty  of  this  caterpil- 
lar universally  attracts 
attention,  its  body  be- 
ing of  a  light-green 
color,  with  oblique 
white  lines  upon  each 
side,  and  ornamented 
with  four  notched, 
short  horns  on  the 
shoulders.  When  full 
grown  it  is  about  three 
inches  long.  It  soon 
enters  the  ground, 
changes  into  a  chrys- 
alis, and  makes  its  ap- 
pearance as  a  perfect 
hawk-moth  during  the 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      193 

following  summer,  having  remained  in  the  ground  during 
the  whole  winter  and  spring.  The  moth,  however,  is  not 
as  handsome  as  its  caterpillar,  having  wings  of  a  light- 
brown  color,  variegated  with  white  and  dark  brown,  and 
expanding  from  four  to  five  inches. 

The  Humming-bird,  or  Transpakent-winged  Sphinx 

Figure  46. 


Humming-bird  Sphiux. 

(Sesia  Pelasgus),  Fig.  46,  also  belongs  to  the  large  family 
of  Sphinxes,  but  is  distinguished  by  its  transparent  wings, 
fan-shaped  tail,  and  by  its  appearance  during  the  day,  hov- 
ering over  flowers  like  a  humming-bird.  It  is  very  hand- 
some, and  is  frequently  seen,  in  our  flower-gardens,  during 
the  months  of  July  and  August.  Its  metamorphoses  and 
habits  of  life  are  much  the  same  as  those  of  others  of  the 
same  genus. 

The  Satellitia  {Philampelus  satellitia)  is  another  very 
handsome  Sphinx,  the  moth  having  wings  of  a  light  olive 
color,  which  expand  from  four  to  five  inches. 

It  is  called  Philampelus  (Lover  of  the  Vine),  because  its 
caterpillar  feeds  principally  on  the  grape-vine,  where  it  is 
found  devouring  the  leaves,  during  the  months  of  July  and 
August.  This  larva  is  more  than  three  inches  long  when 
at  maturity,  of  a  pale-green  color,  and  ornamented  with  six 
cream-colored  spots  on  each  of  its  sides.  Like  all  the 
others,  it  descends  into  the  ground,  transforms  itself  into  a 
cocoon,  which  lies  dormant  during  the  winter,  and  from 

I 


194  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

which  proceeds  the  pei-fect  hawk-moth  in  the  following 
summer. 

These  are  some  of  the  beauties  as  well  as  the  monsters 
of  the  night.  Now  let  us  see  whether  the  day  will  reveal 
any  thing  more  perfect  or  more  beautiful. 

Butterflies  (Lepidoptera  diuma). 

These  beautiful,  light-winged  fairies  possess  one  great  ad- 
vantage over  the  moths  ;  viz. :  they  are  born  to  floui-ish  in 
the  light,  to  adorn  the  brightest  day,  and  to  grow  only 
more  resplendent  in  the  dazzling  beams  of  the  noonday  sun. 
Of  all  the  rich  and  sparkling  colors  that  shine  in  Flora's 
variegated  summer  dress,  there  are  none  more  brilliant, 
none  that  attract  the  eye  so  like  flashes  of  unearthly  light, 
as  those  with  which  Nature  has  adorned  these  flitting  life- 
beams  of  the  day.  It  has  passed  into  a  moral  axiom  that 
those  human  characters  which  can  bear  the  most  open 
scrutiny  are  the  truest  and  the  purest,  while  it  is  only  the 
evil  who  shun  the  light ;  and  so,  in  our  ordinary  apprecia- 
tion of  the  beautiful,  that  which  will  bear  the  strongest 
light  without  exhibiting  imperfection  is  considered  the  most 
perfect. 

Besides,  the  diurnal  butterflies  are  surrounded  with  scenes 
and  circumstances  calculated  to  make  them  more  attractive 
than  any  others.  They  are  not  only  more  seen  and  noticed 
in  the  day,  but  they  appear  at  a  season  and  time  when  the 
summer's  warmth  and  genial  breath  expands  all  hearts, 
and  draws  out  even  the  sick  from  their  close  and  gloomy 
chambers  to  admii'e  the  beauties  of  earth  and  air,  and  to 
partake  of  the  vivifying  and  gladdening  influences  which 
Nature  sheds  around.  Then  they  come,  like  winged  mes- 
sengers from  the  spheres  of  love  and  beauty,  flitting  from 
flower  to  flower,  basking  in  the  sunshine,  joyously  provid- 
ing for  their  future  offspring ;  and  then  not  lingering  along 
to  die  in  the  winter  of  a  desolate  life,  but,  amidst  all  the 


ORDER  IV.— MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      195 

illusions  of  youth  and  happiness,  being  actually  "rocked  to 
sleep  in  a  cradle  of  flowers." 

For  these  reasons  the  butterflies  have  always  been  ad- 
mired more  than  any  other  insect,  and  have  attracted  uni- 
versal attention  from  every  people,  and  in  every  clime  where 
they  have  been  found.  Especially  are  they  the  favorites 
of  the  youth ;  so  much  so,  that  in  some  countries — as,  for 
instance,  Germany  and  France — almost  every  town  has  its 
youthful  amateurs  who  collect  and  exhibit  them  in  glass 
cases.  In  China  and  the  Indies  these  collections  form  a 
part  of  their  exports,  which  generally  meet  with  a  ready  sale. 
The  pencil  and  the  brush  of  many  a  distinguished  artist  has 
been  occupied  with  them ;  and  there  are  now  in  existence 
a  greater  number  of  splendid  works,  descriptive  and  illus- 
trative of  them,  than  any  other  class  of  animals  can  boast. 

For  the  sake  of  our  readers  who  desire  to  investigate 
these  works,  we  refer  to  a  few  of  the  best,  which  are  beau- 
tifully illustrated  with  well-colored  and  generally  accurate 
engravings. 

Roesel's  Insecten  Belustigung  (Amusements  with  the  Insects). 

Merian,  Insecta  Surinamensia. 

Drukt's  Exotic  Insects. 

Esper's  JEuropaische  Schvietterlinge  (European  Butterflies). 

Esper's  Ausldndlsche  Schmetterlinge  (Exotic  Butterflies). 

Ernst  et  Engrajielle,  PapilUons  dC Europe, 

Herbst's  Schmetterlinge  (Butterflies). 

Hubner's  Schmetterlinge  (Butterflies). 

Donnovan's  Insects  of  China,  India,  and  New  Holland. 

Abbot's  Natural  History  of  the  Insects  of  Georgia. 

BoiSDUVAL  et  Leconte,  Lepidopteres  de  I'Avierique  Septentrionale. 

TuoMAS  Say's  American  Entomology. 

Notwithstanding  the  beauty  of  the  butterflies,  and  their 
apparently  happy  life,  they  are  extremely  selfish  in  their 
habits,  and  on  this  account  their  faculties  seem  very  limit- 
ed in  comparison  with  other  insects.  We  never  find  them 
united  in  democratic  republics,  like  the  ants ;  or  in  a  consti- 


196  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

tutional  monarchy,  like  the  bees ;  nor  in  a  socialistic  mon- 
ster phalanstery,  like  the  paper-manufacturing  wasps;  but 
they  are  real  anarchists,  the  subject  of  no  superior  officer, 
and  of  no  kind  of  government.  Every  one  takes  care  of 
himself;  and  in  this  fact,  perhaps,  lies  the  great  secret  of 
their  happiness  ;  for,  although  they  are  deprived  of  all  social 
comforts,  stUl  no  one  can  find  fault  with  another  where  all 
mind  their  own  business,  and  are  mutually  independent. 
This  social  condition  would  never  answer  for  mankind,  be- 
cause from  our  nature  we  are  mutually  dependent  upon  one 
another,  and  ever  must  be  so ;  but  it  does  very  well  for  the 
short-lived  butterflies,  who  require  but  little  food  and  have 
no  trouble  to  procure  it.  Independently  they  ramble  about 
while  the  sun  shines,  and  during  the  night  they  sleep  upon 
the  trunk  or  branches  of  a  tree,  or  on  the  under  side  of  a 
leaf,  of  which  they  take  fast  hold  with  their  feet. 

Butterflies,  like  moths,  are  not  directly  injurious  to  vege- 
tation, because  they  have  no  mouths  with  which  to  eat,  but 
only  a  proboscis  through  which  they  suck  the  sweet  juices 
of  flowers.  Their  caterpillars,  however,  are  equally  rapa- 
cious, and  would  destroy  all  our  vegetables,  as  well  as  trees, 
if  their  number  was  not  constantly  diminished  by  birds, 
beetles,  wasps,  lizzards,  frogs,  toads,  and  other  animals  that 
feed  upon  them. 

Neither  butterflies  nor  their  caterpillars  have  ever  been 
used  as  articles  of  food  by  man,  although  the  ancient  Eoraan 
epicures  considered  the  flesh  of  some  grubs — for  instance, 
those  of  the  Stag-beetle — as  a  very  fine  relish,  and  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  tropics  in  America  the  palm-worm 
is  very  commonly  eaten.  Drury,  an  English  entomolo- 
gist, recommends  all  persons  who  are  cast  by  shipwreck  on 
desolate  islands,  and  can  not  find  any  thing  else  to  eat,  to 
seek  for  those  grubs  which  feed  on  wood  and  are  found  in 
the  trunks  of  trees,  and  says  they  can  comfortably  subsist 
on  them,  at  least  for  a  short  time. 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.     197 

Butterflies  originate  from  eggs,  in  the  same  manner  as 
moths,  and  like  them  go  through  the  metamorphosis,  first 
into  caterpillars,  then  into  cocoons,  and  lastly  into  the  per- 
fect butterfly.  They  are,  however,  distinguished  from  the 
moths  by  their  short  and  knobbed  antenna,  very  short  and 
imperfect  fore  feet,  and  by  their  flying  about  only  in  the 
daytime.  They  have  four  wings,  ornamented  with  the  same 
never-ending  vai-iety  of  colors  as  their  nocturnal  relations, 
while  gold  and  silver,  with  azui'e  and  purple  velvet,  is 
lavished  upon  them  with  profusion.  The  illustrious  Lin- 
nteus,  who  was  a  scholar  of  very  extensive  and  varied  at- 
tainments, was  almost  a  worshiper  of  these  beautiful  in- 
sects, and  bestowed  upon  them  the  names  of  gods  and  god- 
desses, of  heroes  and  kings,  and  many  very  romantic  names 
borrowed  from  ancient  history  and  mythology.  So  we  find 
among  the  butterflies  a  Priamus,  Hector,  Ulysses,  Ajax,  Apol- 
lo, Iris,  lo,  Protesilaus,  Achilles,  Nestor,  Menelaus,  Paris,  An- 
chyses,  Polydamas,  Helena,  Remus,  ^neas,  Danaus,  Heliconia, 
Atalanta,  Argus,  etc. 

These  names  were  all  given  for  some  fancied  resem- 
blance in  look  or  character,  and  although  at  first  sight  they 
may  appear  irrelevant  and  pedantic,  yet  they  have  done 
much  to  enrich  entomology  as  a  science,  by  ingrafting 
upon  it,  through  the  power  of  association,  so  much  other 
and  interesting  knowledge.  We  will  relate  one  anecdote 
in  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  this  fanciful  and 
oftentimes  inappropriate  technology  has  really  enriched  the 
science^  and  added  to  its  general  usefulness  as  a  study. 

While  traveling  in  Russian  Poland  thirty-six  years  ago, 
we  visited  the  highly-accomplished  Countess  Ragowska,  at 
her  country  residence,  when  she  exhibited  her  fine,  scientific- 
ally-arranged collection  of  butterflies  and  other  insects,  and 
told  us  that  she  had  personally  instructed  her  children  in 
botany,  history,  and  geography  by  means  of  her  entomolog- 
ical cabinet.     To  convince  us  of  tlie  truth  of  her  assertion. 


198  NORTH    AMERICAN   INSECTS. 

she  sent  for  her  little  daughter,  and  requested  me  to  ques- 
tion her  on  the  subject,  at  the  same  time  bidding  the  child 
to  tell  us  what  she  knew  about  the  insects  in  the  cabinet. 
That  little  child,  only  eleven  years  old,  very  modestly  ad- 
dressed us  in  French,  saying,  "You  see.  Sir,  many  butter- 
flies and  moths  in  this  cabinet,  of  which  shall  I  tell  you 
what  I  know  about  them  f  We  asked  her  what  she  knew 
about  a  certain  magnificent  butterfly,  which  glistened  in 
one  of  the  boxes  like  polished  silver,  covered  with  the  most 
beautiful  ultramarine  color.  She  replied :  "  That  handsome 
insect  is  called  Menelaus,  and  it  is  a  native  of  South  Amer- 
ica: its  caterpillar  lives  on  the  sapodilla  -  tree  {Achras 
sapota) — a  branch  of  which  we  have  in  our  Herbarium, 
but  the  fruit  of  which  is  unknown  to  me.  Oh  will  you  not 
bring  or  send  me  some  when  you  go  to  America?"  And 
so  that  interesting  child  Avent  on,  and  related  to  us  the  his- 
tory of  Menelaus,  and  the  Trojan  war,  and  told  us  too  the 
history,  geography,  and  natural  productions  of  the  country 
of  which  the  insect  was  a  native ;  and  all  this  knowledge 
she  had  gained,  under  the  guidance  of  her  mother,  through 
that  entomological  cabinet.  "When  she  had  finished,  her 
mother  said :  "  Now,  Sir,  do  you  not  think  that  even  a 
small  cabinet  of  Natural  History  furnishes  a  great  amount 
of  knowledge,  and  for  both  old  and  young  provides  abund- 
ant material  for  entertaining  and  instructive  conversation  ? 
As  for  me,"  she  continued,  "  I  consider  this  noble  science 
as  the  philosopher's  Spiritus  familiaris,  who  snatches  the 
false  face  from  the  sophist  and  the  atheist,  and  makes  him 
believe  in,  kneel  down,  and  adore  the  omnipotence  of  the 
Almighty." 

Our  own  opinions  on  this  subject  have  been  too  often 
expressed  to  need  repetition  here,  and  we  will  only  add 
that  this  accomplished  lady  is  not  the  only  one  who  has 
practically  proved  the  value  of  even  the  technology  of  this 
science,  and  the  great  poAver  of  association  in  fixing  facts  in 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.     199 

the  minds  of  all,  both  young  and  old.  Foi'  this  reason,  if 
for  no  other,  would  we  acknowledge  our  indebtedness  to  the 
great  Linnaeus,  and  endeavor,  as  far  as  possible,  to  preserve 
his  scholarly  fancies. 

According  to  his  arrangement  the  butterflies  are  divided 
into  five  different  families,  which  contain  : 

1.  Knights,  with  prolonged  hind  wings,  resembling  the  tail  of 

swallows. 

2.  Heliconians,  with  narrow,  oblong  fore  wings,  and  short  hind 

wings. 

3.  Danaid-e,  with  round  wings. 

4.  Nymphalid^e,  with  denticulated  wings. 

5.  Plebeians,  comprising  all  other  small  butterflies. 

The  system  of  Linnaeus,  however,  has  undergone  so 
many  changes  by  different  entomologists  in  France,  Ger- 
many, and  England,  that  it  would  be  only  fatiguing  to  enu- 
merate and  explain  all  these  divisions,  even  if  our  limits 
would  allow  it.  We  must,  therefore,  for  the  present,  rest 
satisfied  with  a  brief  notice  of  a  few  of  the  most  conspicuous 
species  of  butterflies  that  abound  in  North  America,  par- 
ticularly those  common  in  the  United  States. 

One  of  these  is  the  Piiilodice  (Colias  pMlodice),  Fig.  47. 
It  is  found  abundantly  during  the  whole  summer,  sucking 
the    iuices    of   flowers, 

•^  _  ^  Figure  4T. 

particularly  the  thistles, 
or  sitting  on  the  surface 
of  mud-puddles,  and  in 
every  part  of  the  Un- 
ion, Mexico,  and  the  An- 
tilles. Its  caterpillar  is 
green,  and  is  principal- 
ly found  on  clover.  , .    ,. 

■'  The  Philodice. 

The  whole  genus  Co- 
lias  is  easily  distinguished,  being  always  of  a  more  or  less 
bright-yellow  color,  with  spots,  on  a  black  border  on  the 


200  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

wings,  and  reddish  antennas.  Their  caterpillars  are  gen- 
erally green  and  smooth,  and  are  found  on  the  leaves  of 
different  species  of  the  pea-tribe  {leguminosce). 

The  CoLiAS  Edusa,  of  a  yellow  color,  more  or  less  mixed 
with  green,  is  less  common  than  the  preceding  species,  but 
is  found  in  some  of  the  Middle  States  during  spring  and  fall, 
and  is  identical  with  the  Colzas  viyrmidone  of  Europe.  Its 
caterpillar  is  dark  green,  with  a  white  line  upon  each  side, 
and  it  lives  upon  clover. 

CoiJAS  Chkysothejie  of  New  York,  and  Couas  Cceso- 
NiA  of  the  Southern  States,  are  very  little  different  from  the 
former  species. 

The  genus  Melitaa  is  distinguished  from  the  preceding 
by  their  wings  being  spotted  with  red  and  black  colors,  so 
distributed  as  to  make  them  look  like  a  chess-board.  Their 
caterpillars  are  covered  with  short,  velvet-like  hair. 

The  Melitaa  Phaeton  (Fig.  48)  is  quite  a  handsome 
Figure  48.  butterfly,   but    is    un- 

fortunately  very  rare. 
During  many  excur- 
sions in  Ehode  Island 
and  New  York,  we 
have  been  able  to  find 
only  a  few  of  this  spe- 
cies. 

The  Phaeton.  *. 

The  Melitaa  Tha- 
EOS,  of  the  Middle,  and  Melitaa  Ismeria,  of  the  Southern 
States,  are  also  not  very  common. 

The  caterpillars  of  both  genera,  Colias  and  Ilelitcea,  are 
both  comparatively  harmless,  and  we  can  not  complain  of 
much  injury  to  vegetation  being  done  by  them. 

The  genus  Vanessa  is  much  more  common,  and  its  larvae 
much  more  numerous  and  rapacious.  Its  butterflies  are 
distinguished  by  their  velvet-like,  denticulated  wings,  orna- 
mented with  bright  colors,  and  their  long  antennae.     All 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.     201 

their  caterpillars  are  covered  with  tender  bristles,  and  some 
species  live  in  large  numbers  together,  as,  for  instance,  those 
of 

The  MouKNiNG-CLOAK  ( Vajiessa  antiope),  Fig.  49.     The 


Figure  49. 


wings  of  this  butterfly  are  a  sort  of  purplish-black  color, 
dotted  with  blue  spots,  and  surrounded  with  a  nankeen-col- 
ored border.  Its  caterpillars  are  also  black  and  thorny, 
and  are  frequently  seen  in  large  numbers,  during  the  months 
of  May  and  June,  on  our  birch,  poplar,  elm,  and  several 
other  trees,  the  foliage  of  which  they  entirely  destroy,  strip- 
ping oiF  their  leaves  until  they  look  like  mat-weed.  The 
thorny-looking  hairs  with  which  their  bodies  are  covered 
are  not  at  all  venomous,  as  many  have  supposed,  and  they 
may  be  handled  with  impunity;  although  they  are  so  inju- 
rious to  our  ornamental  trees,  it  is  advisable  always  to  kill 
them,  which  may  easily  be  done  by  sprinkling  the  tree  and 
branches  with  dilute  soap-suds,  by  means  of  a  hand-engine 
or  otherwise. 

As  this  butterfly  produces  two  broods  during  one  sum- 
mer, the  caterpillars  will  have  to  be  destroyed  twice  in  a 
season.     When  these  creatures  are  fully  grown,  and  nearly 

I  2 


202  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

two  inches  long,  they  metamorphose  into  a  cocoon,  which 
they  suspend  on  fences  or  walls.  Fortunately  a  great  num- 
ber of  these  become  the  prey  of  spiders  and  ichneumon 
wasps,  and  for  this  reason  four  or  five  summers  will  not 
unfrequently  pass  by  without  our  seeing  many  of  these  in- 
sects. 

This  butterfly  is  also  an  inhabitant  of  Europe  and  Asia. 
"We  have  seen  plenty  of  them  in  Italy,  France,  Germany, 
and  Russia,  as  far  north  as  St.  Petersburg,  as  well  as  in 
Transcaucasia ;  but  whether  the  American  species  are  de- 
scendants of  these,  or  vice  versa,  or  whether  Nature  origin- 
ally created  one  pair  in  the  Eastern  Continent  and  another 
pair,  at  the  same  time,  in  the  Western,  we  are  obliged  to 
confess  we  do  not  know.  The  solution  of  this  important 
question,  therefore,  we  must  leave  to  the  Historical  Socie- 
ties of  the  present  day,  who  are  probably  analogically  op- 
posed to  the  opinion  of  that  distinguished  philosopher, 
Humboldt,  who  says  that  the  origin  of  the  human  race 
from  one  or  several  pair  can  not  be  found  out  a  i)osteriori, 
and  hence  all  investigation  as  to  the  cradle  of  the  human 
genus  is  mythological.* 

Thus  unforeseen  events,  which  startle  most  when  most 
unexpected,  and  which  often  tell  upon  the  faith  or  the 
destiny  of  people  and  nations,  may  sometimes  occur,  as  was 
the  case  in  France  some  years  ago,  when,  fifteen  years  after 
the  death  of  St.  Simon  the  communist,  his  pupils  and  fol- 
lowers paid  his  tailor's  bill,  "  all  tailors  in  France,"  says 
Heine,  "  began  to  believe." 

The  AoHKAL  {Vanessa  Atalanta),  Fig.  50,  is  another 
beautiful  insect  of  this  genus.     It  has  black,  velvet-Hke 

*  In  respect  to  this  question,  see  the  most  elaborate  philosophical 
work  of  modern  times :  "  Die  Aegyptische,  und  die  Zoroastriche  Glau- 
benslehre  als  die  aeltesten  Qiiellen  unserer  speculativen  Ideen,  von  De. 
Eduakd  Roeth,  ausserordentlichen  Professor  der  Philocophie  an  der 
Universitat  zn  Heidelberg.     Manheim,  1846." 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIKS.      203 

Figure  50. 


The  Admiral. 

fore  wings,  ornamented  with  scarlet-colored  cross-lines  and 
white  spots,  and  black  hind  wings,  with  a  scarlet  bortler 
around  them.  On  the  under  side  of  the  fore  wings  some 
singular  marks  are  seen,  which  resemble  the  figures  98  or 
86,  and  which  have  given  rise  to  many  superstitious  ideas 
among  the  ignorant.  .  The  female  deposits  about  two  hun- 
dred eggs,  green  and  oval,  upon  the  leaves  or  stems  of  net- 
tles. In  about  a  week  these  become  little  caterpillars, 
which  are  thorny  and  black,  with  bright  yellow  stripes 
around  the  body,  and  which,  when  fully  grown,  are  about 
one  and  a  half  inches  long.  They  walk  very  slowly,  but 
eat  much  and  grow  very  fast.  As  soon  as  they  are  devel- 
oped from  the  egg  they  begin  to  spin  some  of  the  leaves  of 
the  nettle  together,  and  thus  build  for  themselves  a  com- 
fortable dwelling,  which  at  the  same  time  furnishes  them 
with  food.  After  consuming  their  abode  they  roll  up  an- 
other in  the  same  way,  and  thus  are  actively  engaged  dur- 
ing the  two  short  weeks  of  their  existence — for  this  is  all 
the  time  allotted  them — until,  at  its  expiration,  they  are 
fully  grown,  when  they  form  their  cocoons  and  suspend 
them  from  some  of  the  branches.  As  these  caterpillars  live 
mostly  upon  nettles  and  other  useless  weeds,  they  are  not 
considered  as  injurior.o  to  vegetation.     They  usually  appear 


204  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

in  the  month  of  July,  during  which  they  pass  through  at 
least  three  transformations — from  the  egg  to. the  caterpil- 
lar, and  then  to  the  pupa,  which  is  brownish  gray,  with 
some  golden  spots.  This  butterfly  is  frequently  found  in 
Europe,  where  it  is  also  a  native ;  but  there  it  is  called 
Mars,  because  some  have  discovered  marks  upon  the  wings 
which  are  thought  to  possess  some  similarity  to  certain  in- 
struments of  war. 

The  Thistle  Butterfly  ( Fa??e5sa  cardid),  Fig.  51,  some- 
Figure  51. 


The  Thistle  Butterfly. 

times  appears  in  such  large  numbers  that  their  larvas  devour 
not  only  the  leaves,  but  also  the  blossoms  of  the  thistle  and 
burdock.  As  soon  as  one  of  these  caterpillars  issues  from 
the  egg  it  draws  the  points  of  two  leaves  together,  fastens 
them  with  a  silky  thread,  conceals  itself  therein,  and  eats 
the  substance  of  it,  until  it  attains  its  growth,  which  is  one 
and  a  half  inches  long,  when  it  is  ready  to  metamorphose 
into  a  cocoon,  from  which  the  perfect  insect  proceeds  in 
about  two  weeks.  The  whole  process  of  its  three  trans- 
formations occupies  only  four  weeks — as  it  remains  an  egg 
one  week,  a  caterpillar  another  week,  and  a  cocoon  two 
weeks.  Thus  three  or  four  generations  may  appear  in  one 
summer.     The  cocoon  is  generally  of  a  golden-yellow  color. 


ORDER  IV, MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      205 

while  the  perfect  butterfly  is  adorned  with  yellowish,  red, 
brown,  and  black  colors,  with  white  spots  upon  its  wings. 
This  Vanessa  is  very  common  in  the  United  States,  and  it 
is  also  found  in  large  numbers  in  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe, 
where  it  is  commonly  called  the  "  Painted  Lady." 

The  Golden  C  Butterfly  (Vanessa  C  aureum),  Fig.  52. 

Figure  52. 


The  Golden  C  Butterfly. 

This  butterfly  derives  its  name  from  the  golden  mark  be- 
neath the  hind  wings  similar  in  form  to  that  of  the  letter 
C.  It  has  tawny,  orange-colored  wings,  with  brown  and 
black  spots-,  and  is  seen  in  almost  all  of  the  States  of  the 
Union  from  May  until  September.  Its  caterpillar  is  thorny, 
of  a  blackish  color,  and  lives  upon  lime  and  elm  trees,  and 
upon  the  hop-vine;  and  to  these  is  often  very  injurious. 
There  are  a  number  of  other  species  of  the  genus  Vanessa 
found  in  this  country,  but  they  are  described  and  illustrated 
in  Major  Leconte's  and  Boisduval's  work  "  On  the  Lepidop- 
tera  of  North  America,"  and  therefore  we  need  only  refer 
to  their  names  in  this  connection.  They  are :  Vanessa 
Progne,  of  the  Northern  and  Middle  States ;  Vanessa  J.  al- 
lum  and  Vanessa  Milberti,  of  Philadelphia ;  Vanessa  Ccenia 
and  Vanessa  Huntera,  of  the  Southern  States. 


206  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

The  Genus  Papilio. 

This  genus,  called  by  Linnaeus  Knights  or  Chevaliers,  com- 
prises mostly  large  butterflies  with  broad  wings,  and  gener- 
ally with  a  long  swallow-like  tail  at  the  extremity  of  the 
hind  wings.  Some  of  these  butterflies  have  red  spots,  like 
stars,  on  the  breast,  similar  to  the  decorations  of  sovereigns 
and  princes,  as  well  as  of  the  policemen  of  New  York,  one 
of  whom,  on  account  of  the  star  on  his  blue  uniform  coat, 
was  once  mistaken  for  his  Royal  Highness  the  Elector  of 
Hesse  Cassel  by  a  newly-arrived  Hessian  emigrant,  who  at 
once  began  to  revenge  himself  for  past  oppressions  by  at- 
tacking the  policeman  like  Don  Quixote,  the  barber,  with 
Mambrino's  helmet.  Linnaeus  designated  these  butterflies 
by  the  name  of  Trojan  Knights,  and  those  without  the  red 
spot  he  called  Greek  Knights. 

Notwithstanding  their  usual  large  size  and  elegant  dress 
they  are  often  seen  looking  very  shabbily ;  for  their  colors 
soon  fade,  and  their  wings  get  torn  by  their  flying  through 
thorny  bushes  when  chased  by  birds,  when  they  look  very 
much  like  an  old  bachelor  fop  who  has  dissipated  his  prop- 
erty, and  appears  with  threadbare  clothes  —  a  laughing- 
stock to  all  the  young  girls. 

These  aerial  knights,  some  would  doubtless  say,  are  of  no 
use  to  man ;  but  the  admirer  of  Nature,  as  we  have  before 
said,  never  thinks  any  of  her  works  useless.  He  can  al- 
ways see  in  them  something  that  is  attractive — nay,  that  is 
positively  useful — either  in  the  moral  lesson  they  teach  or 
in  the  practical  benefits  derived  from  them,  directly  or  in- 
directly. Thus  these  butterflies,  although  they  do  not  di- 
rectly minister  to  the  animal  wants  of  man,  yet  have  always 
so  beautified  the  countiy  with  their  splendid  colors  and 
ethereal  forms  that  any  person  of  soul  or  sense  would  find 
something  wanting  to  complete  the  beauty  of  Nature's  sum- 
mer face,  did  he  not  see  them  sporting  in  our  gardens,  and 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.     207 

meadows,  and  forests.  He  might  be  even  so  stupid  as  not 
to  know  what  was  wanting,  and  yet  he  would  feel  the  loss 
of  something  to  make  up  its  perfection.  Besides,  these  in- 
sects are  directly  useful,  or  should  be  made  so,  as  we  have 
before  shown,  by  being  one  of  the  best  channels  through 
which  to  imprint  upon  the  minds  of  the  young  an  indelible 
impression  of  many  of  the  most  important  facts  in  history, 
as  well  as  to  impart  a  thorough  knowledge  of  geography, 
botany,  drawing,  and  painting. 

But  aside  from  their  moral  or  intellectual  use,  the  butter- 
flies of  this  genus,  in  their  caterpillars,  furnish  an  abundant 
supply  of  good  food  for  the  birds,  and  the  excrements  of 
their  caterpillars,  when  dried  and  dissolved  in  water,  make 
a  most  excellent  dye-stuff,  like  those  of  the  large  hawk- 
moths. 

The  caterpillars  of  all  the  Knights,  when  touched,  thrust 
forth  from  their  necks  a  pair  of  soft,  orange-colored  horns 
{tentacida),  Avhich  emit  a  fetid  smell,  and  are  pi'obably  de- 
signed as  a  means  of  defense  against  the  attacks  of  other 
animals.  These  caterpillars  are  either  smooth  or  furnished 
with  fleshy  warts,  and  they  live  on  several  different  species 
of  plants.  Their  metamorphosis  into  cocoons  is  accom- 
plished in  the  same  manner  as  that  of  the  preceding  genera. 
One  of  the  most  common  of  these  Knights  is 

The  AsTERiAS  (Papilio  Asterias),  represented  in  Fig.  30, 
with  its  caterpillar  (Fig.  29),  is  quite  large  and  handsome, 
and  is  frequently  seen  in  all  parts  of  the  Union  during  the 
whole  summer.  It  has  black  fore  wings,  bordered  with  a 
double  row  of  yelloAV  dots ;  its  hind  wings  are  also  black, 
and  have  a  double  row  of  yellow  dots,  between  which  are 
seven  blue  spots  ;  and  at  their  lower  extremity  is  ",  swallow- 
tail. The  Asterias  always  deposits  her  eggs  upon  some  of 
the  umbelliferous  plants,  on  those  whose  flower-stalks  issue 
from  one  common  centre,  such  as  carrots,  parsnep,  celery, 
coriander,  cicuta,  anise,  fennel,  parsley,  etc.     Plence  the  cat- 


208 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


erpillars  proceeding  from  these  eggs  are  very  injurious  to 
vegetation  ;  and  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  more  than  twen- 
ty of  tbem  on  a  single  stem  of  carrot  or  celery.  These  lar- 
vae are  generally  known  under  the  name  of  Parsley  worms, 
and  may  easily  be  destroyed.  They  are  smooth-bodied,  and 
of  a  bright-green  color.  These  caterpillars  may  also  be  col- 
lected and  raised  without  trouble,  except  that  many  of  them 
are  stung  by  ichneumon  wasps,  which  deposit  in  each  an 
egg,  the  maggot  of  which  feeds  on  the  flesh  of  the  caterpil- 
lar without  touching  any  vital  part  or  preventing  its  trans- 
formation into  a  cocoon.  After  this  metamorphosis  the 
maggot  consumes  all  that  remains  of  the  embryo  butterfly, 
then  goes  through  its  own  transformation,  and,  instead  of 
the  butterfly,  comes  out  a  perfect  ichneumon  wasp  (Fig. 
67). 

The  Troilus  {Papilio  Troilus),  Fig.  53,  is  another  of 
these  celebrated  knights,  named  by  Linnaeus  after  King 


Figure  53, 


The  Troilus. 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES. 


209 


Priam's  son,  Troilus,  who  was  killed  by  Ancliyses  during 
the  Trojan  war.  This  butterfly  has  black,  denticulated 
wings,  spotted  with  yellow  dots,  and  terminated  by  a  swal- 
low-tail. Its  caterpillar  is  green,  with  a  yellow  stripe  on 
each  side,  and  a  row  of  blue  dots ;  while  the  under  side  of 
its  body  and  its  feet  are  of  a  reddish  color.  It  lives  upon 
the  sassafras  and  spice-wood  trees  (Laurus  sassafras  and  Lau' 
rus  benzoin),  and  upon  several  other  species  of  the  cinnamon 
tribe,  and  is  more  frequently  seen  in  the  Southern  than  the 
Northern  States,  but  is  very  abundant  in  the  Antilles. 
The  Philenok  (Papilio  PMlenor),  Fig.  54,  is  much  small- 
Figure  54. 


The  rhilenor. 


er  than  the  former,  but  like  it  has  black,  swallow-tail 
wings,  the  black,  however,  shading  into  brown  and  green. 
Its  caterpillar  is  brown,  with  two  lateral  rows  of  small, 
reddish  protuberances  with  bristles.  It  lives  on  the  birth- 
wort  (Aristolochia  serpentaria),  and  is  usually  found  in  the 
Southern  States. 

The  Ajax  {Papilio  Ajax)  was  so  named  by  Linnaeus, 
after  one  of  the  bravest  of  iho.  Greek  chieftains  in  the  Tro- 


210  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

jan  war.  This  butterfly  is  about  the  same  size  as  the  pre- 
ceding one,  and  has  wings  of  a  brownish-black  color,  with 
several  white  and  yellowish  stripes,  and  on  the  hind  wings 
are  yellowish  and  blue  spots.  Its  body  is  nearly  black, 
with  two  white  lateral  stripes  upon  it.  Its  caterpillar  is  of 
a  pale-green  color,  embellished  with  various-colored  lines 
and  spots.  It  is  found  only  in  the  Southern  States,  and, 
with  its  caterpillar,  lives  upon  the  Porcelia  jngmcea,  a  kind 
of  custard-apple  bush,  which  is  by  some  incorrectly  called 
papaw. 

The  Calchas  (Papilio  Calchas)  was  so  called  by  the  cel- 
ebrated Danish  entomologist  Fabricius,  after  Calchas,  the 
soothsayer  and  high-priest  of  the  Greek  army  in  the  Trojan 
war.  This  butterfly  is  frequently  found  in  the  Southern 
States,  from  Virginia  to  Louisiana.  It  has  dark,  olive- 
green  wings,  crossed  in  the  middle  by  a  yellowish  band. 
Its  body  is  dark,  with  a  longitudinal  yellow  line  on  each 
side,  and  the  whole  insect  is  about  the  size  of  the  Asterias. 
The  caterpillar  is  green,  has  red  feet,  and  a  yellow  hood 
over  its  head,  and  lives  on  several  species  of  the  cinnamon 
tribe  {laurinece). 

The  PoLYDAMAS  {PapiUo  Pohjdamas)  was  so  named  by 
Linn£Bus,  after  the  Trojan  prince  Polydamas,  son-in-law  of 
the  king  Priam,  and  on  account  of  the  red  spots  was  class- 
ed among  the  "  Trojan  knights."  It  has  wings  of  a  dark 
green  or  bronze  color,  on  the  upper  side,  crossed  in  the 
middle  by  a  yellow  stripe,  while  the  under  side  of  the  hind 
wings  is  of  a  dark-brown  color,  with  red  dots  on  the  mar- 
gin. The  body  is  black,  and  has  two  reddish  spots  on  the 
neck,  which  are  its  insignia  of  knighthood.  Its  caterpillar 
has  a  light-brown  body,  with  red  lines  and  yellow  spots, 
and  lives  principally  on  birth-wort  {Aristolochia  serpenta- 
ria).  It  is  found  in  the  South,  from  Georgia  down  to  South 
America. 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.     211 

The  Genus  Danaus. 

This  is  another  genus  of  the  Leiiidoptera  diurna,  and  a 
large  and  numerous  family  of  beautiful  butterflies.  Our 
limits  will  not  allow  us  more  than  to  give  their  general 
characteristics,  and  to  describe  one  species,  which  is  very 
common  in  this  country  as  elsewhere,  and  which  may  be 
considered  a  type  of  the  whole.  The  butterflies  of  this  ge- 
nus are  distinguished  from  all  others  by  their  large,  round 
wings,  of  a  dark-red  color,  veined  with  black,  and  their  long, 
knobbed  antennae.  Their  caterpillars  are  smooth,  of  a  cy- 
lindrical form,  as  also  is  their  chrysalis,  which  is  green,  or- 
namented with  several  golden  spots.  These  insects  feed 
principally  upon  the  poisonous  leaves  of  the  different  spe- 
cies of  milk-weed  {asclepias),  and  are  found  in  all  countries 
where  these  plants  grow,  which  is  the  case  in  North  and 
South  America,  Africa,  China,  Hindostan,  and  Australia. 
One  of  the  handsomest  and  most  common  of  this  genus  is 

The  Berenice  {Danaus  Berenice),  Fig.  55.     On  account 

Figure  55. 


The  Berenice. 


of  its  beauty,  this  butterfly  was  named  Berenice,  after  the 
wife  of  Antiochus,  King  of  Syria,  universally  considered  the 
loveliest  woman  of  her  age.     It  has  dark-red  wings,  with 


212  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

black  veins,  and  a  black  border  with  two  rows  of  white 
dots.  The  body  of  its  caterpillar  is  of  a  light  violet  color, 
with  brown,  red,  and  yellow  lines.  The  chrysalis  is  round, 
green,  and  embellished  with  golden  dots. 

The  Argtnnis  is  another  genus  of  beautiful  butterflies 
belonging  to  the  diurnal  lepidoptera,  which  we  can  not 
omit,  although  we  can  give  it  only  a  brief  notice.  A  num- 
ber of  its  species  are  natives  of  North  America,  and  some 
are  common  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  They  are 
all  of  a  yellowish-red  color,  with  black  spots  on  the  upper 
side  of  their  wings,  and  silvery  spots  on  the  under  sides. 
These  last  so  much  resemble  the  mother-of-pearl  in  their 
glistening  color,  that  the  Germans  call  the  insects  Mother- 
of-Peai*l  Butterflies.  The  distribution  and  forms  of  these 
colors,  as  well  as  the  size  of  the  individuals,  constitute  the 
difl^erent  species.  Their  caterpillars  are  cylindrical  and 
thorny,  and  their  chrysalis  of  an  angular  form,  and  orna- 
mented with  golden  or  silvery  spots. 

One  of  the  most  common  species  of  this  genus  is  the 
Idaxia  {Argynnis  Idalui),  Fig.  5G,     Its  fore  wings  are  red 


The  Idalia. 


ORDER  IV. MOTHS  AND  BUTTERFLIES.      213 

with  black  marks,  and  the  hind  wings  bluish-black  on  the 
vipper  side,  while  the  undei-  sides  of  all  four  wings  are  cov- 
ered with  silver  spots.  Its  caterpillar  has  a  dark-brown 
body  with  several  yellow  lateral  lines,  and  is  found  in  all 
the  States  of  the  Union,  sometimes  on  nettles,  raspberries, 
and  willows,  but  principally  on  violets. 

Bo'isduval  and  Major  Leconte,  in  their  work,  ^^  Histoire 
Naturelle  des  Lep{doj)tcres  de  VAmerique  Septentrionale"  enu- 
merate, beside  the  one  here  described,  the  following  native 
species,  viz. : 

Argynnis  Diana,  of  Virginia  and  Carolina ;  Argynnis 
Cyhele,  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States;  Argynnis  Co- 
lumbina,  of  the  Southern  States  and  Mexico  ;  Argynnis 
Myrina,  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  States ;  Argynnis 
Ossianus,  of  Labrador;  Argynnis  Polaris  and  Chariclea,  of 
Labrador  and  Cape  Nord ;  and  Argynnis  Bellona,  of  the 
Northern  and  Southern  States. 


ORDER  V. 

NET-WINGED  INSECTS— dNEUROPTERA). 

The  insects  of  this  order  are  distinguished  principally 
by  their  delicate  wings,  which  resemble  the  finest  net- 
work, and  on  this  account  they  are  called  by  the  Germans 
Florjliegen  ("  Gauze  flies").  Their  bodies  are  long,  thin, 
and  soft ;  their  wings,  also,  are  long,  narrow,  and  almost 
transparent.  They  seem  to  be  in  continual  motion  like 
swallows,  and,  catching  their  prey  with  their  feet  while  fly- 
ing, they  devour  it  in  the  air.  They  generally  deposit  their 
eggs  in  ponds,  in  which  the  larvae  or  grubs  issuing  from 
them  live  one  or  two  years,  partly  on  water  plants,  and 
partly  on  other  aquatic  insects,  until  they  metamorphose 
into  a  perfect  winged  insect,  when  they  change  their  watery 
element  for  a  more  ethereal  one. 

All  the  insects  of  this  order  are  not  only  innoxious,  but 
are  decidedly  beneficial  to  man,  and  as  such  deserve  our 
care  and  cultivation. 

The  different  genera  belonging  to  this  order  are  quite 
numerous  ;  and  as  some  of  the  modern  German  and  French 
entomologists  proposed  to  unite  several  of  them  with  the 
order  of  Orthoptera,  or  Straight-winged  Insects,  our  much- 
lamented  friend.  Dr.  Harris  of  Cambridge,  violently  opposed 
such  an  innovation,  and  gave  us  his  reasons  for  his  opposi- 
tion in  the  following  letter,  which,  as  it  so  well  represents 
the  characteristics  of  the  order  we  are  describing,  we  shall 
give  nearly  entire : 

"  Cambridge,  Mass.,  February  22,  1855. 
"  Professor  Jaegar : 

"  Dear  Sir, — Your  letter  of  the  13th  January  has  re- 


ORDER    V. NET-WINGED    INSECTS.  215 

mained  unanswered  longer  than  it  should  have  been,  and  I 
now  improve  a  leisure  liour  to  fulfill  this  duty. 

"Just  now,  at  Professor  Agassiz's  request,  I  have  been 
revising  the  Neuroptera,  and  have  become  much  interested 
therein.  Some  of  the  German  naturalists  (Erichson,  etc., 
etc.)  have  undertaken  to  break  up  this  order,  leaving  there- 
in only  those  genera  which  undergo  a  complete  transforma- 
tion, and  have  inactive  pupte,  such  as  Semhlis,  Coiijdalis, 
C/iaulisdes,  Raphidia,  3Iantisj)a,  Hemerohius,  Myrmeleon,  As- 
calaphus,  Bittacus,  Panorpa,  and  Phnjganea  ;  and  they  trans- 
fer Psocus,  Tei'ines,  Ephemera,  Libellula,  Perla,  etc.,  to  Or- 
thoptera,  or  put  them  among  the  Blatta,  Ilantes,  Spectra, 
and  Gnjlli ! 

"  Linnteus  evidently  regarded  Libellula  as  the  type  of  his 
order  Neuroptera,  and  this  genus  seems  to  have  nothing  in 
common  with  the  Orthoptera  save  a  remote  resemblance  in 
the  structure  of  the  labium  and  labial  palpi,  and  the  im- 
perfect transformation.  This  transformation,  also,  is  not 
analogous  to  that  of  Orthoptera,  excepting  only  in  .the  fact 
that  the  pupse  are  active  and  take  food ;  in  other  respects 
they  are  entirely  unlike  the  perfect  insects,  whereas  the 
pupae  of  the  Orthoptera  closely  resemble  the  perfect  insect, 
with  the  exception  only  of  wanting  fully-developed  wings. 
Hence  I  maintain  that  the  Libelluladte  can  not  with  any 
propriety  be  put  among  Orthopterous  insects. 

"  Libellula  is  closely  connected  in  organization  and  hab- 
its with  other  Neuroptera,  and  hence,  if  it  be  retained  in 
this  latter  order,  Ephemera,  Perla,  Termes,  etc,  must  remain 
also.  My  knowledge  of  these  insects,  in  their  various  states, 
is  probably  equal  to  that  of  the  Berlin  entomologists,  and 
therefore  I  feel  authorized  to  put  my  own  judgment  and  ex- 
perience on  the  subject  against  theirs.  Without  going  very 
deeply  into  particulars,  allow  me  to  contrast  the  characters 
of  Orthoptera  and  Neuroptera,  thus : 

"  Orthoptera. — None  of  them  aquatic.  All  of  them 
active,  taking  food  and  growing  in  the  pupa  state,  which 
resembles  the  winged  or  adult  state,  except  in  wanting  fully- 
grown  wings.  The  parts  of  the  mouth  well  developed ;  the 
labial  palpi  never  wanting ;  the  head  more  or  less  immersed 
at  the  base  in  the  pro-thorax,  and  possessing  only  a  limited 
power  of  motion  ;  antennae  always  much  longer  than  the 
head,  often  very  long,  mostly  setaceous   or   filiform,  very 


216  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

rarely  pectinated  or  knobbed ;  fore  wings  mostly  parch- 
ment-like in  texture,  and  wholly  unfitted  and  unused  for 
flight,  generally  much  smaller  than  the  hind  wings,  and 
sometimes  reduced  to  very  narrow  laminiB  or  entirely  want- 
ing (Phasmidas) ;  hind  wings  ample,  folded  longitudinally  in 
many  plaits  like  a  fan ;  pro-thorax,  the  largest  segment  of 
the  trunk,  often  of  preposterous  size  {Blatta,  Gnjllotalpa, 
Mantis,  Tetrix) ;  abdomen  generally  provided  with  articu- 
lated seta3,  or  filiform  appendages,  and  in  many  with  a 
prominent  ovipositor. 

"  Neuroptera. — Many  of  them  aquatic  in  the  larva  and 
pupa  states ;  transformation  various,  the  pupa3  of  some  be- 
ing quiescent,  and  in  all  bearing  very  little  resemblance  to 
the  perfect  insects ;  parts  of  the  mouth,  in  many  adult  or 
winged  species,  rudimentary,  soft,  and  apparently  unfitted  for 
taking  food ;  in  others  they  vary  in  structure,  but  are  often 
less  complete  even  than  those  of  the  larvas ;  labial  palpi  ob- 
solete in  some ;  head  generally  free,  often  versatile,  and  rare- 
ly immersed  above  in  the  pro-thorax ;  antenna?  sometimes 
very  short  {Ephemercc,  Libelhdadce),  moniliform,  filiform,  se- 
taceous, pectinated  or  knobbed  at  end ;  fore  wings  usually 
as  large  as  or  larger  than  the  hind  wings,  alike  to  them  in 
texture,  and  equally  fitted  and  used  for  flight ;  hind  wings 
often  smaller  than  the  fore  wings,  sometimes  entirely  want- 
ing, never  folded  in  numerous  plaits  when  at  rest ;  pro- 
thorax  (except  in  Corydalis,  Raphidia,  and  Mantispa)  the 
smallest  section  of  the  trunk,  oftentimes  reduced  to  a  mere 
ring ;  meso-thorax  the  largest  segment ;  abdomen  some- 
times with  setaceous  appendages. 

"  The  highly  reticulated  wings  of  the  Libellulge,  Myrme- 
leontidce,  and  some  of  the  Perladse,  which  may  be  regarded 
as  typical  gen'ei-a,  together  with  the  varied  and  mixed  na- 
ture of  the  transformations,  have  always  justly  been  regard- 
ed by  the  most  distinguished  French  and  English  entomol- 
ogists as  forming  the  most  peculiar  characteristics  of  this 
order.  In  the  higher  instincts  and  varied  economy  of  many 
of  the  Neuroptera  we  shall  find  another  ground  for  distin- 
guishing them  from  the  Orthoptera.  I  need  only  allude  to 
the  labors  of  the  Termites,  the  artistical  skill  of  the  Phry- 
ganeadaj  in  the  construction  of  their  habitations,  and  the 
faculties  and  habits  of  the  Myrmeleontida?  and  Hemero- 
biadas,  with   all  the  various  stratagems  employed  by  the 


ORDER    V. NET-AVINGED    INSECTS. 


217 


other  predaccous  tribes  of  this  order,  to  remind  one  how- 
far  these  insects  excel  the  Orthoptera  in  the  number  and 
variety  of  their  instincts."  .... 
"  Respectfully  yours, 

"  TlIADDEUS    WlLLIABI    HaKRIS." 


The  Dragon-Jhj  (Libellula). 
This  is,  perhaps,  the  most  conspicuous  genus  of  the  order 

Figure  5T. 


The  Libellula. 

Neuroptera,  and,  as  has  been  seen  by  the  above  letter  of  Dr. 
Harris,  is  regarded  as  the  typical  genus  of  the  order.  On 
account  of  the  long  and  slender  body,  peculiar  to  the  insects 
of  this  genus,  they  have  sometimes  been  called  Devil's 
darning-needles,  but  more  commonly  Dragon-flies.  The 
French  call  them  Demoiselles,  and  the  Germans  Wasser- 
junrjfern  ("  Virgins  of  the  Water").  Their  hind  body  is 
long,  slender,  and  composed  of  ten  rings.  They  have  four 
transparent,  membranaceous  wings,  which,  although  not  so 
handsomely  colored  as  those  of  butterflies,  still  are  decided- 
ly pretty,  many  of  them  glistening  like  gold,  and  all  resem- 
bling richly-embroidered  gauze.     Some  species  have  brill- 

K 


218  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

iantly  colored  rings  and  spots  upon  their  bodies,  and  a 
variety  of  colors  and  shades  of  blue,  green,  yellow,  and 
brown  upon  their  heads  and  necks,  which  would  justly  raise 
them  to  the  rank  of  Nature's  beauties.  During  the  preva- 
lence of  some  fashions,  their  slender  form  would  be  con- 
sidered one  of  the  elements  of  their  beauty ;  but  in  this 
%■  v:  swelling  age,  and  among  the  expansive  circles  which  are 
now  deemed  the  most  ornamental  array  of  Nature's  loveliest 
and  most  perfect  beings,  we  presume  the  porcupine,  with 
erected  bristles,  would  be  generally  esteemed  the  more  beau- 
tiful animal. 

The  dragon-flies  are  hardly  ever  seen  at  rest,  but  are  in 
continual  motion,  flying  past  us  almost  as  quick  as  light- 
ning, and  winging  their  way  through  the  air  over  gardens, 
meadows,  rivulets,  and  ponds.  The  water  is  their  birth- 
place ;  but  when  they  assume  the  perfect-winged  form  they 
seem  to  sport  with  unbounded  joy  in  the  airy  element,  as  if 
they  had  reached  a  more  elevated  and  more  joyous  sphere, 
and  they  only  approach  the  water  again,  flying  over  its  sur- 
face, for  the  purpose  of  confiding  to  its  placid  and  nurturing 
bosom  the  cell-germs  of  their  future  offspring. 

Notwithstanding  the  very  flattering  titles  with  which  the 
French  and  Germans  have  honored  them — on  account  of 
their  cleanliness,  their  delicate  form,  and  the  beauty  which 
they  attributed  to  their  colors  and  motions — we  can  hardly 
look  upon  them  as  deserving  such  names,  when  we  consider 
their  rapacious  character  and  cruel  dispositions.  Instead 
of  being  mild  and  gentle,  like  the  butterflies  or  other  winged 
inhabitants  of  the  air  who  draw  their  nourishment  from  the 
fruits  and  flowers,  these  insects  are  savage  beasts  of  prey, 
merciless  assassins,  who  plow  the  airy  waves  for  no  other 
purpose  than,  falcon-like,  to  catch  with  their  claws  all 
kinds  of  winged  insects  that  they  meet,  and  devour  them 
with  their  powerful  jaws.  Nor  are  they  at  all  dainty  in 
the  choice  of  their  food  ;  for  the  fat,  blue  meat-fly,  as  well  as 


-     ORDER    V. NET-WINGED    INSECTS.  219 

all  kinds  of  butterflies,  mosquitoes,  and  caterpillars,  arc 
delicious  morsels  for  them. 

It  is,  however,  in  this  their  murderous  character  and 
rapacious  habits  that  their  chief  use  to  man  consists ;  for, 
being  themselves  directly  incapable  of  injuring  him,  they 
rid  him  of  insects  that  are  directly  capable  of  annoying  him 
by  biting  and  stinging.  Thus,  if  a  few  dragon-flies  be  shut 
up  in  a  house  for  only  a  short  time,  they  will  elFectually 
purify  it  of  all  flies,  mosquitoes,  or  other  troublesome  blood- 
suckers, in  the  same  manner  as  toads,  so  much  despised  and 
trod  upon,  will  destroy  whole  armies  of  disgusting  cock- 
roaches, and  several  species  of  running  beetles  {Carahi)  will 
destroy  bed-bugs  if  shut  up  in  the  places  which  these  inju- 
rious insects  infest. 

Here,  again,  we  see  the  practical  utility  of  the  study  of 
Natural  History  in  all  its  details.  How  many  take  measures 
to  drive  out  of  their  gardens  the  harmless  toad,  ignorantly 
bringing  upon  themselves  much  greater  mischief  by  the  ac- 
cumulation of  noxious  insects  which  the  toads  are  destined 
to  destroy,  and  would  destroy,  if  allowed  to  carry  out  the 
benevolent  designs  of  Nature  that  placed  them  there.  So, 
also,  would  many  be  horrified  to  find  beetles  such  as  Harpa- 
lus  cnlliginosus,  Agonoderus  -palUpes,  etc.,  in  their  rooms,  or 
beds,  even  if  the  latter  were  infested  with  that  worst  of  all 
household  pests  the  bed-bug,  and  yet  the  former  are  harm- 
less, can  not  bite  or  sting,  and  would  surely  and  effectually 
destroy  the  latter. 

So,  too,  the  dragon-fly,  which  may  be  handled  by  man 
with  perfect  impunity — for  it  can  not  bite,  or  sting,  or  poison 
him — is  often  a  source  of  terror  in  a  house  or  garden,  where 
it  might  be  extremely  useful  in  destroying  mosquitoes  if  al- 
lowed to  remain.  Only  a  short  time  ago,  while  on  a  visit 
to  a  friend  in  the  country,  we  were  much  amused  to  see 
one  of  the  young  graduates  of  one  of  our  universities  terri- 
bly frightened  at  a  large  dragon-fly  which  had  entered  the 


220  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

open  window,  and  was  flying  swiftly  around  the  room  in 
search  of  mosquitoes  and  other  insects.  The  ladies  scream- 
ed with  terror  in  order  to  make  themselves  conspicuous,  and 
the  valiant  young  gentleman,  proving  himself  not  only  a 
son  of  Minerva,  but  also  of  Mars,  covered  his  head,  and, 
arming  himself  with  a  cane,  after  some  considerable  effort 
succeeded  in  slaying  this  monstrum  horrendum.  He  took  it 
up  in  a  paper,  and,  like  Hercules  with  the  lion's  skin,  car- 
ried it  to  his  mother  as  the  trophy  of  his  valor  and  courage. 
His  mamma,  of  course,  with  a  smile  of  satisfaction,  admired 
the  manly  courage  of  her  beloved  boy,  but  at  the  same  time 
advised  him  never  again  to  expose  his  valuable  life  without 
the  direst  necessity. 

How  much  of  useless  fear  a  little  knowledge  of  Natural 
History  would  have  saved  in  this  case,  and  how  much  posi- 
tive good  might  be  secured  to  every  individual  did  he  but 
understand  the  nature  and  uses  of  even  the  insects  around 
him  !  In  what  a  different  light  this  same  insect  appears  to 
one  acquainted  with  its  natural  history  and  poetic  associa- 
tions, may  be  seen  from  the  following  extract  from  a  note 
received  from  a  lady  of  this  country,  justly  celebrated  for 
her  scholastic  and  dramatic  accomplishments,  the  note  be- 
ing accompanied  with  a  well-preserved  and  beautiful  speci- 
men of  Libellula :  "  Perhaps  he  wdll  be  nothing  new  to  add 
to  the  doctor's  collection ;  but  I  had  such  fine  success  in 
putting  him  into  an  eternal  slumber,  by  the  use  of  chloro- 
form, without  injury  to  any  of  his  bodily  members,  or  touch- 
ing with  spoil  his  delicate  implements  of  locomotion,  that  I 
consider  him  worthy  to  be  handed  over  as  a  candidate  for 
immortality  by  being  placed  among  other  monstrosities  of 
the  doctor's  study.  Though  called  *ye  Devil's  darning- 
needle,'  I  don't  really  think  the  devil  ever  mended  with 
him,  for  he  died  a  Catholic,  as  you  may  perceive  if  you  ex- 
amine closely.  He  wears  the  sign  of  the  cross,  enameled 
in  Nature's  own  handiwork,  on  his  back,  just  between  the 


ORDER       V. NET-WINGED    INSECTS. 


221 


wings.  I  do  not  know  whether  he  be  of  celestial  origin, 
but  opine  it  will  not  be  well  to  '  wake'  him,  according  to 
the  religious  custom  of  mourning  the  dead,  or  glorifying 
their  manes,  so  immemorially  adopted  by  that  strange  and 
ancient  people  who  cling  with  such  reverence,  in  life  or 
death,  to  the  symbol  of  their  faith — the  Cross." 


Dragon-flies  may  be  divided  into  three  different  genera, 


VIZ. 


222 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


The  Agrion. 


1.  Libellula,  with  a  flat,  short  body  (Fig.  57). 

2.  jEshna,  with  a  round,  cylindrical  body  (Fig.  58). 

3.  Agrion,  with  a  small  body,  short,  broad  head,  in  which  the  eyes 

are  placed  at  a  distance  from  each  other  (Fig.  59). 

The  wings  of  the  first  two  genera  are  always  horizontally 

expanded ;  but  the  wings  of  the  last  genus,  when  at  rest, 

„„  are      directed     backward, 

1  igure  53.  ' 

touching  each  other.  They 
have  four  jaws,  which  are 
covered  with  a  helmet-like 
membrane,  giving  them  an 
ugly,  ferocious  appearance, 
but  which  is  really  nothing 
•more  than  the  under-lip, 
with  which  they  are  ena- 
bled to  seize  their  prey. 
The  larvre,  or  grubs  of 
the  dragon-fly,  live  in  the  water.  Those  of  the  genus  Li- 
hellula  are  short  and  thick ;  those  of  ^shna  are  longer ; 
and  those  of  Agrion  are  very  slender,  and  the  smallest  of 
all.  Their  color  is  generally  brownish  green ;  their  head, 
thorax,  and  hind  body  distinctly  separated,  and  the  latter 
composed  of  ten  ringlets.  They  swim  quite  well.  Their 
/  breaithing  is  effected  by  the  hind  extremity  of  the  body, 
as  any  one  may  observe  who  will  take  them  out  of  the 
water  and  leave  them  so  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and 
then  put  them  into  a  flat  vessel  scarcely  covered  with 
water. 

After  spending  ten  or  twelve  months  under  the  water, 
these  larva3  transform  themselves  into  the  perfect-winged 
insect,  and  henceforth  live  in  the  air.  Their  metamorpho- 
sis may  be  almost  daily  observed  from  the  month  of  April 
until  October,  but  occurs  principally  in  the  months  of  May 
and  June.  But  this  transformation  does  not  take  place  in 
the  water,  but  out  of  it;  and,  when  ready  for  their  meta- 


ORDER    V. NET-WINGED    INSECTa.  223 

morphosis,  the  larva?  climb  up  the  stem  of  some  water- 
plant,  and  in  about  two  hours  after  are  capable  of  raising 
themselves  up  by  their  wings  and  flying  away  in  the  air. 
This  whole  operation  may  be  witnessed  by  putting  the 
grubs  into  a  pail  of  water,  and  placing  in  it  some  sticks  or 
branches  upon  which  they  may  creep  up  and  prepare  them- 
selves for  their  aerial  journeys.  Fig.  60  represents  one  of 
these  grubs,  a  larva  of  the  -^shna  grandis. 

As  soon  as  their  wings  are 
dry  they  fly  away  with  the 
same  rapidity  and  with  the 
same  design  as  birds  of  prey, 
making  hundreds  of  evolu- 
tions, up  and  down,  upon  the 
banks  of  rivers,  ponds,  and 
brooks,  or  sailing  over  gar- 
dens and  meadows,  and  along 
the  fences  and  shrubs,  seek- 

, ,  .         .  ,  Grub  of  the  Dragon-fly. 

ing  something  to  eat. 

The  manner  of  their  copulation  is  also  very  curious.  The 
male  fastens  the  extremity  of  the  hind  body,  which  some- 
what resembles  a  pair  of  pinchers,  to  the  neck  of  the  fe- 
male, and  thus  united  together,  one  behind  the  other,  they 
fly  about  for  hours.  The  female  afterward  deposits  her 
eggs,  which  are  very  small  and  white,  upon  the  surface  of 
the  water,  where  they  sink  to  the  bottom,  and  in  course  of 
time  are  hatched  by  the  caloric  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  Watek-moth  {Phryganea)  is  another  very  interest- 
ing genus  of  this  order,  which  also  has  its  birth-place  in  the 
water,  but  which  is  not  so  rapacious  and  cannibal-like  in 
its  habits.  Its  larva?  are  very  numerous,  look  like  cater- 
pillars, and  live  in  the  water,  breathing  by  means  of  gills. 
They  metamorphose  into  moth-like  insects,  having  pendant 
wings,  very  small  and  transparent. 

As  these  larvae  are  not  able  to  swim,  during  their  abode 


224  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

in  the  water  they  manufacture  a  covering  around  their  thin 
bodies,  composed  of  straw,  grass,  or  pieces  of  wood,  or  small 
woody  stems.  With  these  they  form  a  case,  open  at  both 
ends,  in  which  they  are  enabled  to  sail  about  as  if  in  a  row- 
boat.  For  this  reason,  probably,  the  Romans  called  this 
insect  Ligyiij^erda,  and  the  Greeks  named  it  Xyloplioros 
(wood-destroyer),  but  improperly,  because  they  use  only  old 
and  decayed  wood  for  their  purposes. 

These  larvas,  with  their  transportable  cases,  are  found 
at  the  bottom  of  all  those  slowly-running  brooks,  ditches, 
swamps,  and  ponds  in  which  aquatic  plants  grow  abund- 
antly, for  they  are  herbivorous  and  live  principally  upon 
the  water  -  crawfoot  {Ranunculus  aquatilis).  The  internal 
part  of  their  case  resembles  a  hollow  tube,  with  two  open- 
ings, one  for  the  hind  body  and  the  other  for  the  head,  which 
is  always  protruding  from  it.  They  creep  on  the  bottoms 
of  rivers,  ponds,  etc.,  by  means  of  their  six  feet  near  the 
neck,  which  are  also  kept  out  of  the  case,  and  by  which  they 
also  drag  their  case  along  with  them  wherever  they  go. 

Our  highly-esteemed  friend,  Samuel  W.  Seton,  Esq.,  one 
of  the  Superintendents  of  the  Public  Schools  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  and  a  great  amateur  and  promoter  of  the  study 
of  natural  history,  presented  us  with  several  zoological  spec- 
imens, sent  to  him  from  Baraka,  on  the  Gaboon  River,  in 
Africa.  Among  these  we  found  some  portable  cases  of 
water-moths,  which  were  of  much  larger  size  than  our  in- 
digenous species ;  but  as  they  will  convey  a  very  good  idea 
of  the  latter,  and  are  themselves  somewhat  remarkable,  we 
give  a  representation  of  one  in  Fig.  61. 

Figure  CI. 


Grub  of  the  Water-motb. 


ORDER    V. NET-AVINGED  INSECTS. 


225 


The  Horned  Cortdalis  {Corydalis  cornuiits),  so  named 
by  Latrcille,  is  a  genuine  American  net-winged  insect,  the 
male  of  which  is  provided  with  two  strong  pinchers.     Its 


Homed  Corydalis — Male. 

habits  and  characteristics  are  so  much  like  the  other  neu- 
roptera  already  desci'ibed,  that  we  shall  simply  give  a  repre- 
sentation of  them.  Fig.  62  represents  the  male,  and  Fig. 
63  the  female  Corydalis  cornutus. 

K2 


226 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


The  Day-fly  {Ephemera  vulgatd)  is  another  interesting 
genus  of  this  order,  and  perhaps  the  most  wonderful  of  all 
in  its  brief  history  and  sudden  transformations.  It  is  an 
inhabitant  of  Europe  as  well  as  of  America,  and  may  often 
be  seen  in  great  numbers  emerging  from  the  surface  of  our 
rivers,  lakes,  and  ponds.  In  their  perfect  or  winged  state 
they  live  only  a  short  time,  as  their  name  implies,  many  of 


ORDER    V. NET-WINGED    INSECTS.  227 

them  dying  on  the  same  day  in  which,  they  were  born. 
The  name  of  Day-flies  was  given  them  many  years  ago  by 
Aristotle  and  Fliny  {Ephemerius  Diaria),  and  the  same  char- 
acteristics that  made  them  an  object  of  curiosity  then  at- 
tach to  them  now.  They  are  quite  handsome  little  creat- 
ures, carrying  their  citron-colored  wings  perpendicularly  to 
their  backs,  like  butterflies,  among  whom  they  might  be 
placed  were  not  their  birth-place  and  their  metamorphoses 
so  different.  Besides,  in  their  Avinged  form  they  live  only 
long  enough  to  deposit  their  eggs,  and  then  die. 

For  the  short  duration  of  their  ethereal  life,  however, 
they  are  sufficiently  indemnified  by  their  long  existence  as 
larva  and  pupa,  those  conditions  continuing  from  two  to 
three  years,  during  which  time  they  dwell  under  the  water 
on  the  muddy  ground,  which  is  their  food.  The  larvae  pro- 
ceed from  a  ball,  or  cluster  of  numerous  eggs,  which  have 
been  deposited  in  the  water  by  the  female  fly.  They  are 
of  a  brown  color,  composed  of  fourteen  joints,  and  have  two 
black  eyes,  two  antennte,  short  fore  feet  directed  outward, 
like  those  of  a  mole,  for  the  purpose  of  digging,  and  their 
whole  body  is  only  about  an  inch  long. 

After  they  have  attained  their  full  size,  generally  in  the 
months  of  June  or  July,  they  swim  to  the  surface  of  the 
water,  where  they  cast  their  skin  and  fly  off  into  the  air  at 
the  same  moment,  so  that  it  seems  as  if  they  really  flew  out 
of  the  water  as  perfect  insects,  without  undergoing"  any 
transformation.  Every  where  the  eyes  are  turned  thou- 
sands upon  thousands  of  them  are  seen  arising  from  the 
surface  of  the  water,  like  a  series  of  rockets.  In  the  same 
moment  that  the  pupa  are  seen  svdmming  on  the  water, 
they  are  also  seen  flying  up  into  the  air  in  their  perfect  con- 
dition. If  one  is  in  a  boat,  and  stretches  out  his  hand  to 
catch  a  swimming  pupa,  he  will  have  instead  the  perfect 
day-fly,  for  their  metamorphosis  takes  place  the  moment 
they  feel  the  atmosplieric  air.  ^ 


228  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS, 

Some  years  ago  we  observed  multitudes  of  these  insects 
emei'ging  from  the  Raritan  River,  in  New  Jersey,  near 
Trenton,  but  never  have  seen  such  an  enormous  quantity  of 
them  as  we  once  witnessed  near  the  city  of  St.  Petersburg, 
in  Russia.  We  were  crossing  the  River  Neva  in  a  little 
row-boat,  and  encountered  probably  hundreds  of  millions. 
The  whole  atmosphere  from  one  shore  to  the  other  was 
filled  with  them,  and  from  Lake  Ladoga  down  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, as  far  as  Oranienbaum.  The  light  of  the  sun  was 
intercepted  as  in  a  thick  fog,  so  much  so  that  nothing  could 
be  distinguished  at  a  distance  of  a  few  yards.  The  atmos- 
phere had  something  the  appearance  it  presents  in  a  violent 
snow-storm,  and  thousands  of  day-flies  fell  into  the  boat 
and  all  over  our  persons,  while  the  fishes  in  the  water,  the 
birds  in  the  air,  and  the  domestic  fowls  upon  the  shore  were 
every  where  feasting  upon  them. 

In  the  evening  these  flies  are  strongly  attracted  toward 
a  light,  perhaps  more  so  than  any  other  nocturnal  insect, 
and  it  is  very  amusing  to  see  the  crowds  of  them  that  fly 
through  an  open  window  and  dance  around  the  light,  mak- 
ing a  variety  of  turns,  and  circles,  and  waltzes.  They  fly 
so  close  together,  and  glisten  with  such  splendor,  that  the 
observer  sees  a  ribbon  of  gold  continually  revolving  around 
the  light,  or  imagines  a  celestial  globe  of  living  circles  re- 
volving in  all  directions,  while  the  light  represents  the  cen- 
tral sun.  This  spectacle  may  be  increased  to  any  extent 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  lights  placed  in  a  room,  un- 
til the  atmosphere  be  filled  with  these  living  miniatures  of 
the  solar  system. 

Butterflies  require  a  considerable  time  to  issue  from  their 
cocoons,  and  get  their  wings  dry  and  expanded  for  flying ; 
but  these  little  day-flies  perform  the  operation  of  extricating 
their  body,  wings,  and  feet  from  their  pupa,  and  getting 
ready  for  their  aerial  journeys,  in  less  time  than  a  man 
occupies  in  taking  off  his  coat.     And  wonderful  as  is  the 


/ 


ORDER    V. NET-^V1NGED    INSECTS.  229 

whole  history  of  this  diminutive  and  short-lived  insect,  as 
we  have  thus  far  related  it,  we  must  still  add  another  phe- 
nomenon connected  with  it,  and  crowded  into  its  brief  ex- 
istence, which  is  not  observed  in  any  other  insect,  viz. :  that 
many  of  them,  after  flying  about  in  the  air,  cast  their  skin 
a  second  time,  and  leave  it  attached  to  the  trunk  of  a  tree, 
or  on  a  fence,  or  house,  in  such  a  perfect  condition,  that 
no  one  can  tell  it  from  the  insect  without  handling  it.  Its 
form,  size,  and  general  appearance  are  exactly  like  that  of 
the  perfect-winged  fly  in  the  sitting  posture,  with  its  citron- 
colored  wings  erect  like  those  of  a  butterfly. 

The  ephemeral  existence  of  the  insects  of  this  genus  has 
always  excited  the  pity,  as  their  wonderful  history  has  the 
admiration,  of  the  true  lover  of  Nature.  That,  after  grovel- 
ing in  the  earth  so  long,  it  should  shoot  up  so  brilliantly 
into  the  ether,  only  to  enjoy  its  perfect,  winged  state  just 
long  enough  to  perform  its  last  great  function  of  reproduc- 
tion, and  then  instantly  expire,  might  well  excite  a  passing 
regret  in  the  minds  of  its  admirers.  Often  have  we  seen  this 
little  insect  in  the  early  morning,  sitting  near  the  open 
blossom  of  a  purple  morning-glory,  as  if  instinct  had  taught 
it  that  a  similarity  of  fate  had  made  them  fit  associates, 
both  breathing  their  matin  song  to  the  sun,  whose  last  set- 
ting rays  were  destined  to  see  them  wither  and  die.  Like 
two  unhappy  human  souls,  who  find  consolation  only  in 
their  mutual  interchange  of  woe,  until  their  short  day- 
dream is  over,  and  the  night  of  Death  lulls  them  to  eternal 
rest.  Keason,  however,  has  assured  us  that  life  is  not  to 
be  measured  by  its  length  alone,  but  that  that  life  is  long 
enough  for  all  the  enjoyment  of  which  its  recipient  is  capa- 
ble, that  endures  until  all  the  objects  of  its  existence  are 
accomplished.  Surely,  then,  the  diligence  of  this  little  in- 
sect, who  so  faithfully  and  successfully  "  works  while  it  is 
day,"  should  shame  the  idle,  listless  man  who  trifles  away 
his  brief  existence,  unmindful  of  the  high  and  noble  pur- 


230  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

poses  for  which  he  was  created.  The  insects  live  longer  in 
proportion  than  such  men ;  and  man's  life  at  best  is  short — 
but  a  fleeting  day,  when  compared  with  the  long  eternity 
that  awaits  him.  How  strange  that  he  should  willingly 
throw  that  little  life  away,  and  carelessly  allow  the  pre- 
cious pearl,  whose  value  he  does  not  recognize,  to  be  cast 
away  by  the  rough  waves  of  destiny  upon  the  desolate  shore 
of  destruction ! 


ORDER   VI. 

VEIN-WINGED  INSECTS— {HY31EN0PTERA). 

"  QuANTO  potius  Deorum  opera  celebrare,  quam  Philippi 
aut  Alexandri  latrocinia." — This  sentiment,  uttered  many 
years  ago  by  Seneca,  "  How  much  better  it  is  to  admire  the 
works  of  the  gods,  than  the  highway  robberies  of  a  Philip 
or  an  Alexander !"  has  probably  been  repeated  thousands  of 
times  since  by  students  of  Natural  History.  Its  truth  has 
been  acknowledged  and  verified  by  the  experience  of  sages 
and  philosophers  in  every  age.  But  in  no  department  of 
Zoology  has  it  been  more  often  recognized  and  felt  than  in 
the  interesting  order  of  insects  we  are  about  to  describe. 
The  practical  utility  of  many  of  the  Hymenopterous  insects, 
their  persevering  industry,  the  wonderful  ingenuity  with 
which  they  construct  their  artificial  dwellings,  the  prudence 
and  economy  with  which  they  collect  and  store  up  food  for 
themselves  and  their  offspring,  have  always  rendered  them 
the  objects  of  man's  peculiar  admiration  and  care  ;  and  not- 
withstanding, like  many  of  our  most  worthy  and  benevolent 
citizens,  they  make  no  show  of  beauty  on  parade,  they  have 
always  been  regarded  as  the  most  practically  interesting 
and  useful  of  all  the  insect  tribes. 

The  insects  of  the  order  Hymenoptera  vary  very  much  in 
size  ;  some  are  smaller  than  a  flea,  while  others  measure,  with 
their  ovipositor,  full  three  inches.  All  are  distinguished  by 
their  four  membranaceous  wings,  which  are  marked  with 
branching  veins,  and  which  are  generally  shorter  and  small- 
er than  those  of  the  insects  of  the  foregoing  orders.  The 
body  of  the  perfect  insect  is  slender,  with  the  exception  of 


232  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS, 

that  of  the  bee,  and  may  be  divided  into  three  parts,  viz. : 
head,  neck,  and  hind  body,  which  are  connected  together  by 
a  thread-like  organ.  The  head  consists  ahnost  exclusively 
of  two  large  eyes,  two  antennre,  and  denticulated  jaws,  and 
in  some  species  with  a  proboscis  for  sucking  the  nectar  of 
flowers.  On  the  under  part  of  the  neck  are  placed  six  legs, 
and  above  them  four  transparent,  membranaceous  wings. 
Most  of  the  females,  and  those  without  sex,  as  the  workers 
of  bees  and  ants,  are  armed  with  a  sting,  and  occasionally 
with  venom,  which  they  infuse  into  the  puncture.  On  this 
account  the  whole  tribe  has  been  called  Aculeata  (stingers 
or  piercers).  Gall-wasps,  ichneumon-flies,  wasps,  ants,  and 
bees,  with  many  others,  come  under  this  denomination,  and 
belong  to  this  order.  All  the  females  are  provided  with  an 
ovipositor,  which  in  some  species  has  the  form  of  a  hair,  in 
others  the  form  of  a  saw,  and  in  others  that  of  a  sting. 
The  two  former  are  prominent  organs,  which  are  visible 
and  can  not  sting,  except  into  the  soft  skin  of  caterpillars, 
where  they  sometimes  deposit  eggs,  but  the  latter  always 
lies  concealed  in  the  body  until  used  as  a  weapon  of  defense 
or  revenge. 

The  larvo3  of  Hymenopterous  insects  are  of  various  forms. 
Some  of  them  resemble  caterpillars,  having  eighteen  or  even 
twenty  feet,  others  are  maggots  without  any  feet  or  eyes. 
Most  of  the  larvEe  are  of  this  latter  description ;  but  those 
of  the  wood  and  leaf  wasps  have  six  horny  feet  on  the  neck, 
and  twelve  or  fourteen  fleshy  ones  on  the  hind  body.  AH 
the  larvjfi  of  this  order  are  peculiar  for  living  in  clean  places, 
such  as  cells  artificially  built  of  wax,  pieces  of  wood,  leaves, 
or  mortar ;  or  they  dwell  in  wood,  in  holes  under  ground,  in 
gall-apples  or  oak  balls,  and  many  live  in  caterpillars,  but 
none  inhabit  carrion,  dunghills,  or  other  putrid  and  filthy 
places.  When  full  grown,  all  these  larvte,  like  those  of 
butterflies,  metamorphose  themselves  into  a  cocoon  woven 
of  silk. 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  233 

The  Hymenoptera  are  found  in  almost  every  part  of  the 
terrestrial  globe,  but  they  are  most  numerous  and  attain 
the  largest  size  in  tropical  countries.  None  of  them  are 
noctm-nal,  but,  like  the  worthy  and  useful  laboring  classes 
of  men,  they  rise  with  the  sun,  work  unceasingly  through 
the  day,  and  retii'e  to  rest  as  soon  as  the  evening  twilight 
begins  to  draw  its  dark  and  damp  vail  over  the  face  of 
nature.  They  are  neither  seen  nor  heard  when  the  cold 
storm  roars  and  whistles  without,  when  the  thick  drops  of 
rain  or  hail  come  pelting  at  the  windows,  nor  even  at  night, 
though  the  sparkling  moonbeams  dance  like  spectres  through 
the  leafless  branches  ;  but  when  the  summer's  sun  first  casts 
its  morning  rays  over  the  green  leaves  of  meadows  and  for- 
ests, and  the  sleeping  birds  awake  to  greet  the  rising  day, 
then  the  humming  of  these  industrious  insects  begins,  and 
their  earnest  but  monotonous  music  is  heard  all  over  the 
country.  They  fly  from  flower  to  flower,  not  to  injure  or 
destroy  them,  but  to  make  them  productive  by  distributing 
their  pollen ;  or  they  collect  honey  and  wax  for  the  use  of 
man,  or  they  go  about  to  rid  us  of  innumerable  noxious 
caterpillars  and  other  insects,  whch  they  convert  into  whole- 
some food  for  their  ofispring. 

The  value  of  hymenopterous  insects  as  agents  in  fertiliz- 
ing plants  has  many  times  been  demonstrated  by  experi- 
ment. We  recollect  an  instance  of  this,  which  transpired 
many  years  ago,  so  connected  with  pleasant  associations 
that  it  made  a  striking  impression.  While  on  a  journey 
from  St.  Petersburg  to  the  transcaucasian  provinces,  in  the 
month  of  Februaiy,  1825,  we  were  obliged,  on  account  of 
the  intense  cold,  to  stop  in  the  Government  of  Twer,  on  the 
estate  of  our  friend,  Gregor  Wasiliewitsch  Lihatchef,  Col- 
onel in  the  Imperial  Garde  a  Cheval.  There  we  were 
shown  a  very  spacious  hot-house,  full  of  fine  flowering 
plants ;  and  also,  among  others,  about  fifteen  cherry-trees, 
covered  with  blossoms.    We  congratulated  Lady  Lihatchef 


// 


234  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

upon  the  prospect  of  a  large  crop  of  fruit,  when  she  inform- 
ed us  that  her  gardener  had  never  succeeded  in  raising 
more  than  one  dishful  of  fruit  from  all  those  trees.  We 
assured  her  that  if  she  would  place  in  her  green-house  a 
few  full  bee-hives  there  would  be  a  charm  about  them  that 
would  insure  her  an  abundant  harvest  of  fruit.  Two  years 
afterward  we  visited  that  lady  in  Moscow,  on  our  return 
from  the  Caucasus,  when  she  desired  an  explanation  of  the 
charm  connected  v/ith  the  bee-hives ;  for,  said  she,  "  since 
they  were  placed  in  the  hot-house  all  the  trees  have  pro- 
duced fruit  in  abundance."  We  then  explained  to  her  that 
the  bees  collect  the  pollen  of  the  flowers,  and  at  the  same 
time  bring  this  fertilizing  farina  of  the  stamens  in  contact 
with  the  germ,  which  then  produces  the  fruit. 

So  useful  to  man  are  all  the  insects  of  this  order,  that  we 
can  not  find  fault,  notwithstanding  there  are  no  other  in- 
sects which,  when  provoked,  take  revenge  upon  us  with 
dagger  and  venom,  and  notwithstanding  a  few  genera  spoil 
the  wood  of  the  carpenter.  Their  good  so  far  ovei'balances 
their  evil  deeds,  that  the  latter  are  hardly  worthy  of  men- 
tion. 

Of  the  Hymenoptera  of  North  America  we  shall  now 
have  time  to  notice  only  a  few  of  the  most  interesting,  be- 
cause the  most  useful  genera  and  species. 

Figure  64 


The  Onerate  Gall-wasp. 


The  Gall-wasp  (Cynips). 
This  is  a  genus  which  is  very  common,  and  is  composed 
of  a  great  number  of  species.     Its  perfect  insects  are  gen- 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  235 

crally  very  small,  having  a  curved  neck  like  a  hunchback, 
short  antennas,  a  short,  almost  triangular  hind  body,  four 
colorless  wings,  and  a  piercer  or  ovipositor,  as  thin  as  a 
hair,  which  it  most  resembles,  and  by  which  they  make  a 
hole  in  the  soft  parts  of  plants,  into  which  they  deposit 
/  their  eggs.  These  punctures  in  the  stems,  leaves,  or  buds 
/  of  plants  produce  a  swelling  of  the  wounded  parts,  which, 
by  the  irritation  of  the  sucking  maggots  issuing  from  the 
eggs,  accumulate  the  sap,  and  rapidly  increase  in  size,  be- 
coming spongy,  or  pulpy,  or  hard  within.  It  is  curious,  but 
it  is  a  fact,  that  each  egg  grows  larger  after  it  has  been  de- 
posited in  the  plant,  and  sometimes  doubles  its  size  before  // 
the  larva  issues  from  it.  ' 

These  excrescences,  called  galls,  are  in  reality  monstros- 
ities, though  they  generally  present  a  very  fine  appearance, 
so  nearly  resembling  fruits  or  flowers  as  to  be  mistaken  for 
them ;  but,  instead  of  seeds,  they  contain  the  larv£e  of  in- 
sects, which  feed  upon  the  juices  flowing  from  the  wound 
they  have  made  in  the  plant. 

The  most  common  protuberances,  or  galls,  are  those 
found  on  oak-trees,  called  oak-balls,  and  those  brought  from 
Tripolis,  Smyrna,  Aleppo,  and  Mosul,  which  are  extensive- 
ly known  in  commerce  as  a  dye-stuff.  But  Ave  also  see 
green,  yellow,  or  red  galls,  of  the  size  of  grajDCs,  upon  sev- 
eral other  kinds  of  plants.  Upon  the  leaves  of  willows  we 
often  find  them  resembling  warts ;  and  the  branches  of  the 
honey-suckle  {Azalia  nudiflorci)  are  covered  with  yellowish- 
green  galls  of  a  spongy  texture,  which,  with  all  the  maggots 
in  them,  are  greedily  devoured  by  many  ignorant  persons. 
It  is  very  easy  to  ascertain  whether  there  are  such  larvae  in 
a  gall  or  not  by  cutting  it  open ;  and  if  the  insect  has  al- 
ready made  its  exit  there  will  be  a  hole  left  in  the  gall. 

We  have  received  a  number  of  valuable  insects,  natives 
of  that  State,  from  Professor  D.  S.  Sheldon,  of  Iowa  Col- 
lege, at  Davenport,  and  among  others  two  nests  of  Gall- 


236 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


wasps ;  viz.,  that  of  the  Cynips  oneratus  (Fig.  64),  and  Cynips 
seminator  (Fig.  65),  both  found  on  the  white  oak. 

At  almost  any  season  of  the  year,  by  examining  the 
small  twigs  of  the  white  oak,  we  may  find  around  them 
clusters  of  oak-balls,  of  the  size  of  a  small  marble,  which 
are  as  hard  as  wood.  These  hard  excrescences  are  the  re- 
sults of  the  punctures  made  in  the  tender  twigs  by  the 
Cynips  oneratus,  who  at  the  same  time  deposits  its  eggs  in 
them.  The  swelling  of  these  punctures  is  caused  by  the 
gradual  enlargement  of  the  egg,  and  also  by  the  continual 
irritation  of  the  little  maggot,  who  is  thus  furnished  with 
food  and  a  secure  dwelling  until  it  is  ready  to  perforate 
the  oak-ball  and  come  forth  as  a  perfect  four-winged  wasp, 
which  metamorphosis  usually  takes  place  in  June  or  July. 
This  little  wasp  is  very  small,  being  only  about  the  sixth 
of  an  inch  long. 

Oak-balls  of  this  kind  ai-e  found  every  where  in  North 
America,  and  they  might  possibly  be  substituted  for  those 
we  receive  from  the  Levant,  and  which  constitute  such  a 
valuable  dye-stuff.  They  have  never  been  used  as  such  to 
our  knowledge  ;  but  the  suggestion  is  well  worth  the  atten- 
tion of  chemists  and  dyers ;  for,  if  experiment  should  prove 
them  as  valuable  as  the  foreign  oak-balls,  a  vast  amount 


Figure  65. 


The  Sower  Gall-wasp. 


ORDER    VI.— VEIN-'VVINGED   INSECTS.  237 

of  expense  and  trouble  might  be  saved  to  our  home  manu- 
facturei's.  For  such  purposes  they  should  be  collected  ear- 
ly in  the  spring  or  late  in  the  autumn,  as  those  which  are 
perforated  with  holes  would  be  of  no  use  as  a  dye-stuff. 

The  Cynips  seminator  is  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  gall- 
wasps,  and  yet  the  oak-ball,  which  is  the  consequence  of  its 
puncture,  is  as  large  as  a  walnut,  of  a  reddish  color  and  a 
rough  exterior.  Each  one  of  these  galls  contains  a  large 
number  of  maggots,  and  when  it  is  ripe,  or  rather  when  it 
has  been  abandoned  by  the  perfect  insects,  it  is  found  to 
contain  a  soft,  spongy,  and  dry  substance,  like  a  toad-stool, 
which  is  easily  broken  and  reduced  to  powder. 

A  great  number  of  different  species  of  Gall-wasps  are 
found  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  their  increase  is  only  to 
be  desired,  not  dreaded,  for,  with  the  exception  of  the  saw- 
wasps,  they  do  no  injury  to  vegetation,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, are  very  useful  to  man  ;  as,  for  instance,  those  which 
produce  the  oak-apples  of  commerce  {Cynips  Gallce  tinciortcv), 
found  upon  the  dyer's  oak  (Quercus  infectoria),  in  the  Le- 
vant. 

The  IcHNEUiMON- WASPS  are  another  very  useful  and  in- 
teresting tribe  of  vein-winged  insects.  They  are  distin- 
guished by  their  slender  body,  long  ovipositor,  and  long  an- 
tennjB,  which  are  always  in  a  continual  quivering  motion. 
They  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  living  body  of  other  insects, 
such  as  grubs,  caterpillars,  and  all  kinds  of  larvae,  upon 
whose  substance  they  feed.  Although  able  to  pierce  cater- 
pillars, grubs,  and  cocoons,  yet  they  never  use  their  ovi- 
positor for  defense,  and  consequently  can  be  handled  with 
impunity. 

The  larger  ichneumons  deposit  only  one  egg  in  each  lar- 
va, as  in  the  caterpillar  of  the  Asterias  Butterfly ;  but  the 
smaller  ones  deposit  several  hundred  eggs  in  one  larva,  as 
we  have  seen  in  the  potato-worm,  from  whose  skin  hun- 
di'eds  of  small  ichneumons  creep  out,  and  immediately  trans- 


238  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

form  themselves  into  white  silken  cocoons,  which  resemble 
rice-seeds  in  appearance,  and  which  cover  the  whole  body 
of  the  emaciated  and  dying  caterpillar. 

Very  minute  ichneumons,  scarcely  visible  to  the  naked 
eye,  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  eggs  of  different  lepidopterous 
insects,  and  from  these  the  perfect  ichneumon  issues  about 
three  weeks  after. 

The  family  of  Ichneumon-wasps  is  immensely  large  in  all 
parts  of  the  world.  In  1829  the  Swedish  entomologist, 
Gravenhorst,  published  three  large  volumes  on  "  Ichneumon- 
ologia  Europcm"  to  which  Professor  Nees,  of  Bonn,  made  a 
considerable  addition  ;  but  if  one  should  undertake  to  de- 
scribe the  genera  and  species  of  the  American,  Asiatic, 
African,  and  Australian  ichneumons,  of  all  of  which  very 
little  is  known,  he  would  occupy  more  than  twenty  large 
volumes. 

The  largest  ichneumon  of  this  country  is  the  Pbipla 
LuNATOR  (Fig.  G6),  the  body  of  which  is  about  one  inch 
and  a  half,  and  the  ovipositor  three  inches  long.  One 
would  naturally  suppose  that  so  long  an  organ,  with  the 
two  side  bristles,  which  serve  as  a  scabbard,  would  be 
very  burdensome  to  this  insect ;  but  by  watching  her 
movements  he  would  soon  see  with  what  ease  and  skill 
this  little  creature  manages  that  instrument,  and  by  means 
of  it  introduces  her  eggs  into  those  larvae  which  ai'e  con- 
cealed in  deep  holes  under  the  bark  of  trees,  or  in  decayed 
wood. 

We  have  before  spoken  of  the  handsome  green  caterpillar 
of  the  Asterias  Butterfly,  represented  in  Fig.  30,  and  found 
so  commonly  upon  the  leaves  of  all  the  umbelliferous  plants. 
Our  attempts  to  raise  the  handsome  Papilio  asterias  fi'om 
these  caterpillars  have  often  been  frustrated  by  a  species 
of  ichneumon  which,  stinging  the  caterpillar,  grows  within 
its  body  until  it  forms  its  cocoon,  when  it  destroys  the 
chrysalis,  and  then  emerges  from  the  cocoon  instead  of  the 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  289 

Figure  06. 


T.ouc-tailed  Icliiieumon-fly. 


240 


NORTH   AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


Figure  6T. 


The  Asterias  Ichneumon-fly. 


butterfly.  This  miscliievous  wasp  we  have  called  Ichneu- 
mon asterice,  and  the  co- 
coon from  which  it  issues, 
which  is  properly  that  of 
the  Papilio  asterias,  is 
represented  at  Fig.  67. 
How  the  female  ichneu- 
mon knows  that  the  cat- 
erpillar in  which  it  de- 
posits an  egg  has  not 
been  already  pierced  by 
another  insect,  and  why 
it  only  deposits  one  egg 
in  the  body  of  each  lar- 
va, is  among  the  mysteries  of  nature  that  we  can  not  fath- 
om, much  less  explain. 

The  GoLD-AVASP  (Cb^sis)  belongs  also  to  the  numerous 
family  of  Ichneumons.  It  is  distinguished  by  its  splendid 
colors,  having  a  cylindrical  yellow  abdomen,  with  a  green 
neck  and  head.  It  is  a  little  larger  than  a  common  fly. 
If  you  take  one  in  your  hand,  it  will  bend  the  abdomen 
downward  until  its  extremity  reaches  the  head,  giving  the 
insect  the  appearance  of  a  ball  or  coil.  Its  sting  is  harm- 
less, and  it  deposits  its  eggs  in  all  kinds  of  larviB.  Its 
beauty,  and  the  impunity  with  which  it  can  be  handled, 
would  undoubtedly  make  it  much  admired  were  it  not  for 
its  fetid  odor. 

Another  useful  family  of  insects  belonging  to  the  order 
Hymenoptera  are  those  wasps  which  are  called  by  the 
Germans  Raupentodter  ("  Caterpillar-killers"),  because  they 
kill  every  kind  of  larvae,  such  as  grubs,  spiders,  cockroaches, 
etc.,  with  which  they  nourish  their  young.  Of  this  family 
there  are  several  genera,  of  which  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent in  this  country  is 

The  Mtjd-wasp  {Sphex  Pennsylvanica),  Fig.  68. — ^This 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS. 


241 


The  Mud-waap. 


insect  is  more  than  one  inch  long,  and  of  a  dark-blue  pur- 
ple color.  It  makes  Figmc  6s. 
its  abode  in  the 
loose,sandy  ground, 
and  when  digging 
its  hole  resembles  ''''^~~' 
a  dog  digging  after 
mice,  throwing  the 
earth  under  it  to- 
ward its  hind  body 
with  the  fore  feet. 
If  the  pile  of  sand 
becomes  too  high 
or  troublesome,  it 
places  itself  upon  it,  and  throws  the  earth  behind  it  with 
great  force  until  it  is  leveled.  As  soon  as  its  subter- 
ranean abode  is  prepared,  it  seizes  a  large  spider,  or  a 
caterpillar,  or  some  other  insect,  stings  it  in  the  neck,  and 
then  carries  it  into  its  hole.  It  is  curious  to  see  one  of 
these  wasps  take  hold  of  a  cockroach,  seizing  it  by  one  of 
its  long  antennae,  and  continually  walking  backward,  com- 
pelling the  cockroach  to  follow,  notwithstanding  its  great 
reluctance  and  constant  opposition,  until  both  have  arrived 
at  the  hole,  when  the  wasp  kills  it  by  a  sting  in  the  neck, 
then  tears  it  into  pieces,  and  carries  it  into  her  subterranean 
dwelling  as  food  for  her  offspring. 

There  are  several  other  species  of  this  wasp  which  man- 
age in  a  similar  manner  with  their  prey,  but  which  make 
their  dwellings  in  rotten  wood,  as  the  Philanthus;  or  build 
dwellings  of  clay  upon  the  walls  of  houses,  as  the  Pelopaius. 
There  are  others  which  build  cells  resembling  honey- 
combs, which  they  manufacture  out  of  decayed  fibres  of 
wood,  after  converting  them  into  a  paper-like  material. 
One  species  of  these  wasps  fasten  their  abode,  which  con- 
sists only  of  a  few  dozen  combs,  upon  the  twig  of  a  bush  or 


242  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

tree,  while  another  makes  a  globular  paper-nest  of  combs 
under  ground,  which  nest  is  sometimes  a  foot  in  diameter, 
and  actually  resembles  a  subterranean  city,  having  houses 
and  streets,  the  whole  being  surrounded  and  fortified  with 
a  paper  wall. 

But  of  all  the  ichneumon  tribe,  probably  the  Hornet 
(  Vesjja  chartaria)  is  the  most  celebrated  for  its  ingeniously- 
built  dwelling,  it  being  of  a  globular  form  and  filled  with 
cells,  which  are  constructed  of  the  paper  which  this  insect 
manufactures  out  of  wood.  These  hornet's  nests  are  found 
every  where  in  North  and  South  America,  either  suspend- 
ed in  the  air  or  closely  built  around  the  branch  of  a  tree  or 
under  the  eaves  of  houses.  They  are  a  sort  of  solid,  round 
vessel,  often  more  than  a  foot  in  diameter,  the  walls  of 
which  are  of  a  white  or  gray  color,  and  in  appearance  and 
thickness  closely  resemble  thin  pasteboard.  Such  a  nest 
often  contains  a  dozen  or  more  combs,  is  several  stories 
high,  with  hexagonal  cells,  and  has  its  entrance,  which  is 
about  the  diameter  of  a  finger,  at  the  bottom.  The  inhab- 
itants of  such  a  dwelling,  several  thousand  in  number,  are 
composed  of  workers,  females,  and  males,  the  latter  of  which 
are  the  largest.  The  workers  and  the  females  are  provided 
with  a  sting,  which  is  justly  much  dreaded,  children  hav- 
ing not  unfrequently  died  from  its  eflfects,  and  adults  often 
having  experienced  severe  suffering  from  the  same  cause. 
The  hornets  are  of  a  dark -brown  color,  and  are  known  to 
every  one  who  has  spent  much  time  in  the  country. 

It  would  be  interesting,  and  possibly  might  be  made  very 
profitable,  to  institute  experiments  with  the  wood  from 
Avhich  these  insects  manufacture  their  paper ;  for  if  a  new 
material  for  the  manufacture  of  paper  could  thus  be  discov- 
ered, the  fortunate  discoverer  would  be  well  repaid,  and  the 
country  would  really  be  enriched  by  possessing  another  source 
of  revenue,  and  we  should  not  be  obliged  to  import  so  many 
rags  from  Trieste  and  other  Austrian  sea-ports. 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  243 

All  the  insects  of  this  order  thus  far  enumerated  are 
more  or  less  useful  to  man,  bj  their  agency  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  such  a  vast  number  of  caterpillars,  grubs,  and  other 
insects  directly  injurious  to  vegetation.  But  we  must  men- 
tion one  family  of  the  ichneumons  that  are  as  destructive  to 
vegetation  as  they  are  to  the  caterpillars,  viz.,  that  com- 
posed of  the  several  genera  of  the  Saw-wasp. 

Now  there  is  one  fact  in  connection  with  the  larvae  of  this 
,  family  which  should  be  mentioned  in  the  beginning.  The 
true  caterpillars,  which  are  metamorphosed  into  moths  and 
butterflies,  never  have  more  than  sixteen  legs ;  but  many 
of  these  larvos  are  found  which  almost  exactly  resemble 
caterpillars  in  appearance,  but  which  have  more  than  eight 
pairs  of  legs,  and  these  are  called  pseudo  or  false  caterpil- 
lars, because  they  do  not  transform  into  lepidoptera,  but 
into  hymenopterous  insects. 

Formerly,  many  experienced  naturalists  held  the  opinion 
that  all  the  wasps  which  they  found  issuing  from  the  co- 
coons spun  by  these  pseudo-caterpillars  were  the  produc- 
tion of  ichneumons ;  but  more  extensive  and  closer  investi- 
gations proved  this  to  be  an  error.  The  pseudo-caterpillars 
proceed  from  eggs  deposited  by  different  species  of  hymen- 
optera,  and  each  propagate  their  own  species,  some  being 
ichneumons,  others  very  different  species  of  wasps.  Those 
which  feed  on  leaves  deposit  their  eggs  on  them,  while  other 
wasps,  which  feed  on  wood,  deposit  their  eggs  under  the  bark 
of  trees.  When  fully  grown,  most  of  the  caterpillars  go  to  the 
ground,  and  transform  themselves  into  cocoons  under  its  sur- 
face.   None  of  these  wasps  are  provided  with  a  venomous  sting. 

Notwithstanding  the  pseudo  -  caterpillars,  like  the  true 
ones,  are  ornamented  with  a  great  variety  of  colors,  cast 
their  skin  four  times,  and  spin  silky  cocoons,  yet  they  may 
be  recognized  as  false  by  their  globular  brown  or  black 
head,  and  by  the  number  of  their  feet,  which  sometimes  is 
eighteen,  sometimes  twenty,  and  even  twenty-two. 


244  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Saw-wasps  (Tenthreds). 

These  insects  are  distinguished  by  the  double  saw  at  the 
extremity  of  the  hind  body,  with  which  all  the  females  are 
provided,  and  with  which  they  cut,  like  a  carpenter,  little 
slits  in  the  stems  and  leaves  of  plants,  into  which  they  drop 
their  eggs.  The  larvae  of  the  Saw-wasps  exactly  resemble 
caterpillars,  and  they  feed  upon  the  leaves  of  those  plants 
upon  which  their  mother  had  glued  her  eggs,  that  is,  upon 
which  they  Vi^ere  born.  They  cast  their  skin  four  times, 
and,  when  fully  grown,  some  species  go  into  the  ground  in 
order  to  make  their  cocoons ;  while  others  metamorphose 
and  fasten  their  cocoons  on  the  stem  of  a  plant,  like  the 
caterpillars  of  butterflies. 

The  Elm-teee  Saw-wasp  {Cimhex  Ulmi)  is  one  of  the 
largest  insects  of  this  family.  It  is  about  one  inch  long, 
and  its  wings  expand  about  two  inches.  Its  head  and  tho- 
rax are  black,  the  hind  body  blue,  the  antennae  of  a  nankeen 
color  toward  the  top  and  dusky  at  the  base,  the  feet  pale 
yellow,  and  the  legs  black.  The  female  may  be  seen  de- 
positing her  eggs,  early  in  June,  upon  elm-trees,  the  leaves 
of  which  serve  as  food  for  the  insect  and  her  offspring. 
The  caterpillars  which  issue  from  these  eggs  are  of  a  green- 
ish-yellow color,  and  have  twenty-two  legs.  When  fully 
grown,  they  descend  from  the  tree,  conceal  themselves  imder 
the  fallen  leaves  on  the  ground,  and  there  spin  their  cocoon, 
within  which  they  remain  during  the  whole  winter,  and 
until  the  following  May  or  June,  when  the  perfect  insect 
makes  its  exit. 

The  Wood- wasps  are  the  most  destructive  insects  of  this 
whole  order,  and  often  do  great  injury  to  our  forest,  as  well 
as  our  ornamental  and  fruit  trees.  Perhaps  the  most  con- 
spicuous insect  of  this  species  in  this  country  is 

The  Pigeon  Tremex  {Tremex  Columba),  Fig.  69.  This 
insect  is  more  than  one  inch  long,  and,  like  the  whole  fam- 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED  INSECTS.  245 

Figure  69. 


The  Pigeon  Tremex. 

ily  of  them,  is  provided  with  a  borer,  which  is  one  inch 
long,  as  thick  as  a  bristle,  of  a  black  color,  and  always  con- 
cealed within  the  body  when  not  in  use.  Elm-trees  and 
button-wood  are  their  favorite  points  of  attack,  into  the 
trunks  of  which  they  bore  holes  half  an  inch  deep  and 
drop  their  eggs  therein.  In  performing  this  operation  they 
not  unfrequently  become  victims  of  their  zeal  and  labor, 
driving  in  their  borer  so  tightly  that  they  are  not  able  to 
extract  it,  in  consequence  of  which  they  are  fastened  to  the 
spot  and  perish  by  starvation.  Their  eggs  are  oblong,  and 
the  larvas,  or  grubs,  proceeding  from  them  are  in  turn  often 
stung  by  the  long  piercer  of  the  Pimpla,  who  smuggles  her 
cuckoo  egg  into  the  hole  upon  that  of  the  Tremex,  and  in 
'  so  doing  also  loses  her  life  very  often,  by  being  in  like  man- 
ner fastened  to  the  trunk  of  the  tree. 

The  larvae  of  the  wood- wasp  are  yellow,  somewhat  re- 
sembling the  grubs  of  the  May-beetle,  and  are  often  found 
in  blocks  of  wood  at  the  shops  of  carpenters.  They  feed 
exclusively  on  wood,  making  long  passages  through  it,  and 
thus  destroying  much  valuable  timber;  and  as  they  grow 


246  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

very  slowly,  and  remain  several  years  in  the  larva  state, 
they  often  become  injurious  to  whole  forests  of  trees.  When 
fully  grown,  they  are  about  one  inch  long,  when  they  make 
their  cocoon ;  and  in  a  few  days  after  undergo  their  final 
transformation  into  the  perfect  insect. 

We  now  come  to  a  much  more  wonderful,  and,  with  one 
exception  perhaps,  the  most  interesting  genus  of  the  whole 
order  Hymenoptera — a  genus  of  world-wide  notoriety,  and 
one  that  seems  to  partake  in  a  remarkable  degree  of  that 
intelligence  which  naturally  belongs  to  the  highest  order  of 
animals.     We  mean 

The  Ants  (Formica). 

These  insects  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the  globe,  but  in 
greater  number  and  of  larger  size  in  the  tropics,  where 
their  vitality  is  not  affected  by  cold  weather.  The  genus 
Formica  contains  a  great  number  of  black,  yellow,  red,  and 
brown  species,  of  very  different  sizes,  some  being  only  two 
or  three  lines,  while  others  are  an  inch  long.  Their  head  is 
broad,  thorax  small,  and  hind  body  large ;  their  upper  jaw 
is  very  wide,  like  a  broad  forceps ;  their  antennte  small,  of 
a  triangular  or  elbow  shape,  similar  to  those  of  the  Snout- 
beetle  ;  their  eyes  are  very  small,  and  the  sting  is  some- 
times wanting. 

Each  species  live  in  a  social  community  by  themselves, 
in  ant-hills,  and  is  composed  of  males  and  females,  who  are 
provided  with  wings ;  and  Avorkers,  who  have  no  wings.  The 
males  and  females,  of  which  there  is  a  great  number,  have 
nothing  to  do  but  to  enjoy  themselves  and  multiply  their 
species.  The  wingless  workers  do  all  the  necessary  in-and- 
out-of-door  business :  they  build  their  habitation,  or  ant- 
hill, of  earth,  pine-wood  leaves,  and  woody  fibres,  with 
which  they  also  manufacture  their  subterranean  caverns: 
they  feed  the  young  ones,  and  carry  the  cocoons  from  one 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  247 

place  to  another  with  their  large  jaws,  the  instruments  with 
which  they  perform  all  their  work.  The  maggot  is  white, 
without  feet,  has  a  horny,  brown  head,  and  is  fed  like  a  lit- 
tle bird  by  a  Avorker,  and  after  a  few  weeks'  growth  spins  a 
white  cocoon. 

All  ants  are  benumbed  during  the  winter,  and  lie  im- 
'v  movable  in  their  subterranean  abodes,  without  taking  any 
kind  of  food.  In  the  summer,  however,  their  food  is  very 
various.  They  eat  all  kinds  of  fruit,  dead  as  well  as  living 
insects,  sugar,  honey,  and  other  sweet  juices,  principally 
that  of  plant-lice,  called  honey-dew,  which  exudes  from  their 
bodies  without  doing  them  any  injury.  Plant-lice,  on  this 
account,  were  called  by  Reaumure,  "  the  milch-cows  of  the 
ants ;"  and  to  ascertain  their  abodes  in  the  trees  it  is  only 
necessary  to  follow  the  march  of  the  ants,  who  will  climb 
to  the  top  of  the  highest  tree  in  search  of  their  beloved 
friends,  whom  they  caress  in  the  most  affectionate  manner, 
sucking  the  honey-dew  from  their  bodies  without  harming 
them  in  the  least,  although  they  will  attack  and  devour 
every  other  kind  of  insect,  even  the  largest  caterpillars. 
This  honey-dew,  of  which  the  ants  are  so  fond,  is  nothing 
but  the  digested  vegetable  juices,  which  are  continually  ex- 
haled by  the  plant-lice. 

As  has  already  been  intimated,  ants  are  not  only  her- 
bivorous but  also  carnivorous,  and  almost  any  kind  of  ani- 
mal food  is  palatable  to  them.  If  a  small  dead  animal — for 
instance,  a  mouse  or  a  rat,  a  frog  or  a  lizard — be  put  into 
one  of  their  ant-hills,  it  will  be  converted  by  them  into  a 
very  well-prepared  skeleton  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours  ; 
but  if  it  remain  longer,  it  will  fall  to  pieces,  leaving  only 
the  bones,  because  the  ants  will  eat  up  even  the  ligaments 
and  cartilages. 

White,  oval  bodies,  resembling  barley  seeds,  are  found 
in  the  ant-hills  during  the  summer,  which  have  sometimes, 
and  now  are  by  the  common  people  called  ant-eggs,  which 


248  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

form  an  excellent  food  for  all  kinds  of  warblers,  such  as 
mocking-birds  and  nightingales.  In  the  cities  of  Europe 
they  are  sold  by  the  quart  in  the  markets.  These  miscalled 
ant-eggs,  which  are  as  large,  and  even  larger  than  the  ants 
themselves,  can  not  be  their  eggs,  but  are  the  cocoons  of 
the  metamorphosed  maggots,  of  which  the  workers  take  so 
much  care.  If  they  are  taken  out  of  the  hill  and  scattered 
about  over  the  ground,  it  is  curious  and  astonishing  to  see 
with  what  anxious  solicitude  and  indefatigable  zeal  the 
workers  pick  them  up  again  with  their  jaws  and  carry  them 
back  into  the  hill,  for  greater  safety  transporting  them  deep- 
er than  ever  in  the  ground.  In  order  to  collect  these  pupee, 
or  cocoons,  as  food  for  warblers  kept  in  cages,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  fix  a  dry  and  shady  spot  of  ground  near  one  of 
their  ant-hills,  then  stir  up  the  hill  with  a  stick,  or  pour  a 
considerable  quantity  of  water  in  it,  and  after  a  few  mo- 
ments the  workers  will  convey  the  cocoons  to  the  shady  and 
dry  spot,  where  they  can  be  collected  at  pleasure. 

The  real  eggs  of  ants  are  as  small  as  a  grain  of  sand,  and 
almost  invisible,  white  and  shining  as  if  they  had  been  var- 
nished. The  maggot,  issuing  from  each  egg,  has  twelve 
ringlets,  and  in  the  pupa,  which  is  semi-transparent,  all  the 
members  of  the  perfect  insect  are  visible. 

Most  of  the  ants  are  provided  with  a  small  sting,  which, 
when  applied  to  human  flesh,  produces  a  little  itching,  some- 
times a  slight  swelling  and  inflammation,  caused  by  the 
venom  of  the  insect,  which  enters  the  wound  with  the  sting. 
This  venom  is  nothing  else  than  the  well-known  formic  acid, 
which  produces  the  pleasant  sour  odor  when  the  ant-hill  is 
stirred  up,  and  which  is  procured  by  druggists  for  medicinal 
purposes.  This  acid  substance  may  be  obtained  by  putting 
a  certain  quantity  of  ants  into  a  bag,  placing  the  bag  under 
a  press,  and  then  squeezing  out  their  fluids,  but  it  may  also 
be  obtained  much  easier  by  a  chemical  process.  This  for- 
mic acid  changes  vegetable  blue  to  red ;  so  that  if  ants  pass 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  249 

over  larkspur,  borage,  or  other  blue  flowers,  and  discharge 
any  of  their  fluid  substance  upon  them,  their  blue  color  will 
be  changed  into  red. 

In  the  ant-hills  among  the  pine  woods  we  very  commonly 
find  little  resinous  cakes,  formed  like  pebble-stones,  which, 
like  other  building  materials,  are  carried  into  their  dwellings 
by  the  ants.  This  substance,  saturated  with  the  formic 
acid,  is  very  similar  to  the  so-called  frankincense,  used  in 
churches  as  well  as  private  houses  as  a  perfume,  because 
when  put  upon  lighted  coals  its  smoke  emits  a  pleasant, 
amber-like  odor,  somewhat  resembling  that  of  frankincense, 
but  which  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  presence  of  formic  acid, 
with  which  this  resinous  substance  is  impi'egnated  by  the 
ants.  The  true  fi-ankincense  (Olibamim,  Libanus  thurifera) 
is  brought  from  Central  India,  and  is  obtained  from  the  res- 
inous juice  of  a  tree  called  Broioellia  serrata.  This  resin 
is  used  in  India  not  only  for  its  perfume,  but  as  pitch,  when 
boiled  with  oil,  for  pitching  the  bottoms  of  ships ;  and  in 
medicine  for  its  stimulant,  astringent,  and  diaphoretic  prop- 
erties. The  formic  acid  was  first  discovered,  about  a  cen- 
tury ago,  by  the  German  chemist  Marggraff,  in  Berlin, 
and  it  is  now  also  artificially  prepared  by  distillation  for 
medicinal  purposes,  as  well  as  for  its  perfume  when 
burned. 

Many  curious  and  interesting  phenomena  have  been  ob- 
served in  connection  with  the  habits  and  customs  of  the 
ants,  a  few  of  which  we  must  notice  in  this  place.  In  the 
pleasant  evenings  of  the  month  of  August  there  are  often 
seen  swarms  of  male  and  female  ants  rising  in  large  col- 
umns perpendicularly  into  the  air,  ascending  and  descend- 
ing in  large  masses,  and,  after  thus  manoeuvring  for  a  time, 
they  come  down  to  the  ground,  lose  their  wings,  and  die,  as 
soon  as  the  females  have  deposited  their  eggs  in  the  hills 
and  left  them  in  charge  of  the  workers.  These  flying  col- 
umns of  ants  sometimes  appear  like  a  mass  of  thick  smoke, 

L  2 


250  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

and  have  often  been  seen  in  such  numbers  as  to  alarm  many 
people,  who  supposed  some  building  was  on  fire  at  a  dis- 
tance. 

But  the  closest  observations  have  been  made,  and  the 
most  wonderful  phenomena  have  been  witnessed,  when  the 
ant-hills  have  been  placed  under  a  glass  box,  where  all 
their  movements  could  be  distinctly  watched.  The  high 
degree  of  intelligence  which  these  little  creatures  display 
under  such  circumstances  has  never  failed  to  excite  the 
wonder  and  admiration  of  every  observer.  Looking  at  the 
ants  through  such  a  glass  box,  we  see  hei*e  and  there  a  fe- 
male, accompanied  by  some  of  the  workers,  running  along 
dropping  her  eggs,  which  are  immediately  taken  up  by  her 
attendants  and  carried  away.  These  eggs  are  of  an  oval 
form,  milk-white,  very  small,  and  opaque  ;  but  by-and-by 
they  become  larger,  growing  like  the  eggs  of  the  gall-wasp, 
and  then  they  become  transparent,  when  a  black  spot  may 
be  seen  in  the  centre  of  each,  which  is  the  embryo  of  the 
future  ant.  These  eggs  will  all  dry  up  and  perish  if  the 
workers  are  removed ;  for,  in  order  to  be  developed,  they 
must  be  continually  moistened  with  the  saliva  of  the  work- 
er ;  and  so,  even  in  insect  life,  the  sweat  of  the  laborer  be- 
comes the  source  of  plenty  and  prosperity.  With  this  nour- 
ishing care  the  eggs  teem  with  life,  and  in  about  two  weeks 
the  maggot  is  hatched,  which  is  transparent,  but  without 
feet  or  antennae. 

The  ants  are  proverbially  an  industrious  race,  and  when 
the  first  rays  of  the  morning  sun  fall  upon  the  ant-hill  those 
that  are  on  the  outside  run  hastily  within,  rousing  the  slum- 
berers,  touching  all  those  that  are  inside  the  hill  with  their 
antennse,  pressing  and  pushing  them  until  the  whole  popu- 
lation is  in  motion.  The  lazy  ones  and  those  that  move 
too  slow  are  seized  with  the  jaws  and  carried  up  to  the  top 
of  the  hill,  as  well  as  the  maggots  and  pup«  of  the  nurser- 
ies, where  they  are  all  exposed  to  the  sun's  rays  about  a 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  251 

quai'ter  of  an  hour,  after  which  they  are  carried  down  under 
the  first  stratum,  and  there  fed. 

We  may  receive  still  greater  evidence  of  their  intelligence 
if  we  observe  their  language  of  signs.  If  the  ants  on  the 
outside  of  the  hill  are  disturbed  by  strange  ants,  part  of 
them  will  at  once  put  themselves  into  offensive  and  defens- 
ive position,  while  others  will  immediately  run  into  the  hill 
and  alarm  those  within,  who  then  come  rushing  out  to  as- 
sist their  brethren  in  attacking  the  foe,  while  the  guardians 
of  the  nurseries  carry  the  maggots  and  pupae  to  the  lowest 
part  of  the  hill  for  greater  security. 

So,  if  one  ant  discovers  a  closet  where  are  sweet  articles, 
such  as  fruit  or  sugar,  it  quickly  returns  to  its  fellows  for 
the  purpose  of  acquainting  them  of  its  discovery,  and  in  a 
very  short  time  whole  swarms  of  them  will  arrive  with  the 
discoverer  to  divide  the  spoils.  They  go  out  in  companies, 
also,  to  drink,  of  which  they  are  very  fond ;  but  if  one  of 
them  is  disturbed  in  so  doing  he  communicates  the  fact  im- 
mediately to  all  the  rest  by  pushing  the  one  nearest  him, 
who  passes  on  the  news  in  the  same  way  to  all  the  rest, 
when  all  receiving  the  sign  run  to  the  hill ;  but  if  any  one 
is  not  attentive  to  such  admonition,  he  is  seized  by  the  legs 
and  dragged  to  the  hill.  In  general,  they  give  signs  to  one 
another  in  all  their  operations  by  their  angular  or  elbowed 
antenna3,  which  work  somewhat  like  the  old  French  tele- 
graph. With  their  antennte  they  also  express  their  friend- 
ship and  love,  as  we  may  see  when  we  observe  them  caress- 
ing one  another,  or  their  friends  the  plant-lice. 

Their  social  sympathy,  and  their  mutual  attachment  for 
one  another,  is  as  great,  and  even  greater  than  that  of  the 
bees ;  for  it  is  well  known  that,  even  Avhen  cut  into  pieces, 
they  do  not  cease  to  defend  their  mansion  and  their  off- 
spring. The  head  and  thorax  of  an  ant,  without  any  hind 
body,  have  been  seen  to  carry  a  pupa  to  a  place  of  security. 
And  Professor  Latreille  cut  off  the  antennae  of  some  ants, 


252  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

and  then  let  them  go  back  to  the  hill,  when  some  of  their 
brethren  commenced  moistening  the  wounded  parts  with 
their  saliva,  which  probably  is  their  remedy.  So,  too,  ants 
which  had  been  separated  from  the  hill  under  glass  for  four 
months  were  brought  back,  and  were  immediately  recog- 
nized by  their  brethren,  who  commenced  a  mutual  caress- 
ing with  their  antennae  and  jaws,  while  general  satisfaction 
and  joy  was  distinctly  seen  throughout  the  whole  commu- 
nity. 

Again,  the  ants,  which  inhabit  hills  favorably  situated 
for  finding  plenty  of  food  and  drink,  are  seen  to  play  and 
frolic  with  one  another  like  little  dogs  or  kittens.  On  fine, 
sunny  days  they  may  be  seen  in  crowds  running  about  on 
the  outside  of  their  nests,  the  antennae  of  each  moving  with 
great  rapidity,  while  some  with  their  fore  feet  caress  the 
heads  of  others,  and  some  rise  up  in  pairs  on  their  hind  feet, 
take  hold  of  one  another  with  their  jaws,  throw  each  other 
upon  the  ground,  and,  in  short,  wrestle  like  turners  without 
injuring  one  another. 

With  regard  to  their  nourishment,  also,  or  at  least  their 
need  of  it,  the  antennae  seem  to  be  the  principal  organs  of 
their  language.  Having  no  store-house  like  the  bees,  those 
ants  which  remain  at  home  are  obliged  to  wait  until  the 
others  bring  home  food  for  them,  which  generally  consists 
of  small  insects,  of  which  each  of  the  resident  ants  take  a 
morsel.  But  if  those  who  go  in  search  of  food  find  only 
fruit,  or  large  bodies,  such  as  worms,  caterpillars^  dead 
mice,  or  lizards,  which  they  can  not  carry  home,  they  suck 
out  all  their  liquid  substance,  preserve  it  in  their  own 
stomachs,  and,  when  they  get  back  to  the  hill,  discharge  it 
by  drops  into  the  mouths  of  their  comrades.  When  one  is 
hungry,  therefore,  it  touches  with  the  antennas  that  one  by 
whom  it  desires  to  be  fed,  and  the  latter,  after  such  an  ad- 
monition, opens  its  mouth  and  feeds  the  former  with  the 
fluid  substance  it  has  preserved  in  its  stomach,  while  the 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  253 

recipient  expresses  its  gratitude  by  caressing  with  the  fore 
feet  the  head  of  the  donor. 

Now,  although  among  each  community  of  ants  there 
reigns  entire  love,  friendship,  imity,  and  equality ;  still,  if 
two  different  species  come  in  contact,  they  make  war  to  the 
death,  just  as  rival  human  nations  do,  only  there  is  no  cun- 
ning diplomacy  or  base  espionage  used  by  the  former. 
They  fight  bloody  battles,  a  great  number  are  mutilated, 
many  lives  are  lost,  and  their  fortresses  are  besieged,  taken, 
and  destroyed.  In  these  bloody  contests,  as  among  men, 
the  workers  alone  have  to  fight  and  suffer,  while  the  males 
and  females,  like  emperors  and  kings  with  their  royal  fami- 
lies, fly  to  some  distant  place  of  security,  and  order  their 
subjects  to  mutilate  and  massacre  one  another  for  the  sake 
of  their  glory,  ambition,  and  power. 

Some  very  remarkable  stories,  sounding  more  like  fiction 
than  like  facts,  have  been  told  by  various  ancient  authors 
concerning  the  "  Wars  of  the  Ants ;"  but  the  most  astonish- 
ing descriptions  ever  related  were  abundantly  confirmed  by 
the  observations  of  Mr.  P.  Huber,  of  Geneva,  in  Switzer- 
land, who  published  a  monograph  concerning  the  ants  in 
1810,  ^'  Mcews  des  Fourmies  indigenes,^''  as  well  as  afterward 
by  Mr.  Hanhart,  of  Basle.  The  latter  gentleman  describes 
a  battle  he  witnessed  between  brown  and  black  ants,  and 
states  that  the  brown  ants  had  two  hills  near  one  another 
at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  while  the  black  ants  occupied  five  hills 
near  together  at  a  distance  of  foii^y  feet  from  them.  In  the 
month  of  June,  at  10  o'clock  a.m.,  he  observed  a  great 
movement  in  the  hills  of  the  brown  ants.  They  marched 
out  to  the  middle  of  an  uncultivated  field,  which  was  situ- 
ated between  them  and  their  enemies,  and  arrayed  them- 
selves in  a  long,  uninterrupted,  oblique  line  of  battle,  which 
line  was  about  twenty-four  feet  long,  and  consisted  of  only 
one  file.  In  the  mean  time,  the  much  more  numerous,  but 
much  smaller  black  ants,  also  marched  out  and  arrayed 


254  NORTH  AMERICAN   INSECTS. 

themselves  in  a  line  of  battle,  three  ranks  deep,  their  right 
wing  being  covered  by  a  mass  of  several  hundred,  while 
their  left  wing  was  supported  by  nearly  a  thousand  individ- 
uals. Thus  the  two  armies  moved  one  against  the  other, 
until  they  approached  each  other  near  enough  to  commence 
the  battle,  when  the  two  masses  which  supported  the  wings 
formed  oblong  squares,  from  three  to  four  inches  wide,  with- 
out taking  part  in  the  affray.  Then  the  fighting  began  with 
fury,  the  jaws,  stings,  and  venom  constituting  their  formi- 
dable weapons ;  and  very  soon  mutilated  bodies,  heads,  and 
headless  trunks,  torn-out  feet  and  legs  could  be  seen  lying 
all  over  that  miniature  battle-ground.  The  fight  was  con- 
tinued with  great  vigor  until  noon,  when  the  massacre 
ceased,  and  the  remnant  of  the  brown  ants  took  flight  to 
parts  unknown,  while  the  black  ants,  as  the  victors,  took 
possession  of  the  fortresses  of  the  enemy,  carrying  along 
with  them  their  wounded  fellow-soldiers. 

Such  stories  seem  really  wonderful ;  but  they  are  true, 
and  may  be  seen  in  our  pine  woods  every  summer  by  every 
person  who  will  take  the  pains  to  be  an  attentive  observer 
of  natural  phenomena,  and  not  be  content  to  go  through 
life  a  mere  thoughtless,  promenading  automaton. 

We  have  called  the  ants  useful  insects,  and  so  they  are 
in  many  ways.  They  furnish  us  with  foiinic  acid  and 
frankincense,  and  they  rid  us  of  many  injurious  larvae  and 
other  noxious  insects,  besides  destroying  carrion ;  but  they 
are  injurious  to  bee-hives,  flowers,  cherries,  pears,  and  oth- 
er fruit.  They  are  more  numerous  and  voracious  in  hot 
climates.  While  in  the  island  of  Hayti,  we  left  open,  dur- 
ing only  one  night,  a  case  containing  more  than  three  hun- 
dred specimens  of  valuable  insects  on  pins,  and  the  next 
moi-ning  we  were  much  grieved,  as  well  as  surprised,  to 
find  the  case  entirely  empty;  nothing  but  the  pins  were  left; 
all  the  insects  had  been  devoured  by  the  ants.  No  article 
of  food,  no  clothing,  and  no  papers  of  importance  can  be 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  255 

secured  from  their  voracious  appetite,  unless  preserved  in 
tight  bureaux  or  boxes  of  mahogany,  which  they  do  not  at- 
tack ;  but  furniture  of  pine  or  oak  wood  will  be  destroyed 
by  them  in  less  than  three  months. 

Of  their  dangerous  voracity  in  the  tropics,  and  carnivor- 
ous propensity,  there  are  many  strange  but  well  authentica- 
ted instances.  Dionisio  Carli,  of  Piacenza,  Missionary  in 
Congo,  Africa,  was  once  sick  in  bed  while  there,  when  his 
little  pet  ape  suddenly  jumped  upon  his  head.  He  thought 
that  some  rats  had  probably  frightened  the  little  animal, 
and  tried  to  tranquilize  him,  when  several  negroes  shouted 
to  him  to  get  up,  because  the  ants  had  entered  the  house. 
He  was  then  obliged  to  be  carried  into  the  garden  in  order 
to  save  his  life,  for  the  ants  had  already  commenced  crawl- 
ing on  his  feet,  and  the  floor  of  the  room  was  covered  with 
them  to  the  height  of  one  foot.  Those  ants,  he  relates, 
ate  up  every  living  object  within  their  reach ;  and  of  one 
cow,  which  was  accidentally  left  over  night  in  the  stable 
tlirough  which  they  passed,  nothing  but  the  bones  were 
found  the  next  morning. 

The  Visiting  Ants  {Formica  cephalotes),  which  inhabit 
the  tropics  of  America,  are  not  less  destructive  in  their  rav- 
ages, although  not  as  dangerous  as  the  African  species. 
They  are  as  large  as  a  common  wasp,  and  chestnut  colored. 
Once  every  year  they  issue  from  their  subterranean  abodes 
in  innumerable  swarms,  enter  the  houses,  run  through  all 
the  rooms,  and  kill  all  the  large  and  small  insects  that  are 
to  be  found  therein — such  as  scorpions,  centipedes,  spiders, 
as  well  as  lizards  and  toads.  Not  only  these  small  ani- 
mals, but  even  the  human  inhabitants  of  the  houses,  are 
obliged  to  flee  before  them  ;  and  yet  they  are  quite  welcome, 
and  are  not  disturbed  in  their  progress,  for  these  ants  thor- 
oughly clean  a  house  of  all  vermin,  and  as  soon  as  they 
have  accomplished  this  they  leave  it  for  another  dwelling, 
through  which  they  pass  in  the  same  manner.     The  insects, 


256^  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

also,  are  of  the  greatest  use  in  the  tropics,  because  they  so 
rapidly  devour  noxious  carrion,  which,  if  allowed  to  remain 
until  its  decomposition  and  evaporation,  would  speedily  cause 
a  pestilence.  Their  superabundance,  which  would  be  dan- 
gerous to  human  life  in  the  tropics,  is  checked  by  different 
species  of  ant-eaters  and  armadillos  in  all  the  tropical  re- 
gions of  America,  Asia,  and  Africa.  These  animals  feed 
exclusively  on  ants,  and  are  unquestionably  the  instruments 
which  a  kind  Providence  has  created  for  the  purpose  of 
limiting  the  increase  of  these  voracious  insects. 

But  our  limits  forbid  us  further  to  pursue  this  subject, 
and  we,  therefore,  shall  now  conclude  our  history  of  the  Hy- 
menoptera  with  the  consideration  of  the  most  interesting 
genus  of  the  order — in  fact,  the  most  interesting,  and  in 
many  respects  the  most  useful,  of  all  the  insects  that  inhabit 
the  globe,  viz.. 

The  Honey-hee  (Apis  mellifera). 

This  is  an  insect  that  in  every  country  has  universally 
attracted  man's  attention  and  his  nurturing  care,  from  the 
earliest  ages  of  the  world  to  the  present  time — a  little  an- 
imal that  has,  probably,  excited  more  admiration  from  all 
classes  of  men  than  any  other  animated  being  on  the  earth's 
surface  not  of  the  genus  Homo — an  insect  celebrated  in 
the  most  ancient  as  well  as  the  most  modern  records  of  the 
world,  both  sacred  and  profane,  as  a  riddle  to  the  learned, 
a  marvel  to  the  scientific,  a  faithful  servant  to  the  ignorant, 
who  has  only  known  that  it  would  ten-fold  reward  his  care, 
an  object  of  wonder  and  reverence  to  the  superstitious  and 
the  heathen,  and  a  model  lesson  to  the  child !  Even  in  our 
nursery  rhymes  it  has  been  distinguished  above  all  other 
animals  as  an  example  of  industry,  and  the  little  lisping 
child  is  taught  to  sing 

"  How  doth  the  little  busy  bee 
Improve  each  shining  hour!" 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  257 

The  most  exalted  and  the  purest  minds  that  have  ever 
drawn  their  moral  illustrations  from  the  works  of  Nature 
have  singled  out  this  little  creature  as  a  wonderful  and  con- 
vincing evidence  of  the  design  and  handiwork  of  a  God. 
One  distinguished  writer  truly  says :  "  That  within  so  small 
a  body  should  be  contained  apparatus  for  converting  the 
virtuous  sweets  which  it  collects  into  one  kind  of  nourish- 
ment for  itself,  another  for  the  common  brood,  a  third  for 
the  royal,  glue  for  its  carpentery,  wax  for  its  cells,  poison 
for  its  enemies,  honey  for  its  master;  with  a  proboscis  as 
long  as  the  body  itself,  microscopic  in  its  several  parts,  tel- 
escopic in  its  mode  of  action,  with  a  sting  so  infinitely 
sharp  that,  were  it  magnified  by  the  same  glass  which 
makes  a  needle's  point  seem  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  it  would 
yet  itself  be  invisible,  and  this,  too,  a  hollow  tube  ;  that  all 
these  varied  operations  and  contrivances  should  be  included 
within  half  an  inch  of  length  and  two  grains  of  matter, 
while  in  the  same  '  small  room'  the  '  large  heart'  of  at  least 
thirty  distinct  insects  is  contained,  is  surely  enough  to  crush 
all  thoughts  of  atheism  and  materialism." 

But  whatever  reflections  the  examination  of  their  won- 
derful  life  and  history  may  excite  in  the  minds  of  observ- 
ers, certain  it  is  that,  either  as  pure  natural  curiosities,  or 
on  account  of  the  profit  that  may  be  derived  from  them, 
bees  have  ever  been  the  subjects  of  much  research  and  in- 
vestigation on  the  pai't  of  practical  agriculturists  as  well  as 
scientific  entomologists.  AVe  find  works  descriptive  of  them, 
and  the  manner  in  which  they  should  be  treated  so  as  to 
make  them  most  productive,  in  all  languages,  ancient  as 
well  as  modern ;  and  the  number  of  works  written  on  this 
single  species  of  one  genus  of  insects  is  greater  than  those 
published  on  any  complete  genus  or  order  in  entomology. 

Among  the  scientific  works  on  this  subject  we  may  par- 
ticularly refer  to  those  of  Swammerdam  and  Eeaumure,  pub- 
lished about  the  middle  of  the  last  century.     The  former, 


258  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

ia  his  ^'■Biblia  Naturce"  gives  his  minute  anatomical  inves- 
tigations of  the  external  and  internal  parts  of  the  bee,  while 
to  the  latter  we  are  indebted  for  some  of  the  best  observa- 
tions concerning  bees,  published  in  the  fifth  volume  of  his 
"  Histoire  des  Insectes."  The  works  of  Mr.  Huber,  of  Gene- 
va, in  Switzerland,  "  Nouvelks  Observations  sur  les  Abeilles" 
1814,  as  well  as  the  "Treatise  of  Bees,  by  Robert  Huish, 
London,  1815,"  are  both  very  rich  in  new  observations  con- 
cerning the  history  and  treatment  of  these  insects.  The 
excellent  work  of  the  last-named  author  can  not  be  too 
highly  recommended,  and  should  be  in  the  possession  of  ev- 
ery apiarian. 

It  is  probably  on  account  of  their  great  utility,  more  than 
because  of  the  wonderful  phenomena  which  they  exhibit, 
that  bees  have  always  received  so  much  attention  from 
mankind  in  general.  While  we  are  at  no  great  expense  for 
their  food,  they  furnish  us  with  a  precious  and  lucrative 
luxury,  and,  except  the  silk-worm  and  cochineal,  they  are 
the  only  insects  of  direct  commercial  value  to  man.  In 
comparison  with  the  silk-worm  and  cochineal,  the  bees  oc- 
cupy a  superior  rank,  and  are  more  generally  beneficial  to 
man,  because  they  prosper  in  all  climates,  even  where  the 
former  can  not  live.  In  those  old  times  before  the  process 
of  making  sugar  was  known,  and  for  a  long  time  after  in 
countries  and  among  classes  of  people  that  could  not  pro- 
cure it,  bees  were  much  more  important  because  of  their 
honey.  On  this  account,  so  much  care  was  bestowed  upon 
them  in  ancient  times,  as  is  related  by  Cato,  Varro,  Colu- 
mela,  Palladius,  and  Virgil. 

The  great  importance  of  these  insects,  and  the  interest 
universally  manifested  in  them,  demands  from  us  a  tolera- 
bly minute  description  of  their  natural  history,  as  well  as 
the  best  modes  of  treating  them,  so  as  to  make  them  most 
productive. 

It  is  impossible  for  any  reflecting  person  to  look  at  a  bee- 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  259 

hive  in  full  operation  without  being  astonished  at  the  act- 
ivity and  surprising  industry  of  its  inhabitants.  We  see 
crowds  constantly  arriving  from  the  woods,  meadows,  fields, 
and  gardens,  laden  with  provisions  and  materials  for  future 
use,  while  others  are  continually  flying  off  on  similar  col- 
lecting expeditions.  Some  are  carrying  out  the  dead,  others 
are  removing  dirt  or  oflal,  while  others  are  giving  battle  to 
any  strangers  that  may  dare  intrude.  Suddenly  a  cloud 
appears,  and  the  bees  hurry  home,  thronging  at  the  entrance 
to  the  hive  by  thousands,  until  all  are  gradually  received 
within  their  sacred  inclosure.  In  the  interior  of  the  hive 
we  see  with  what  skill  they  work  their  combs  and  deposit 
the  honey  which  they  have  manufactured ;  and  when  their 
labor  is  over  for  the  day,  we  observe  them  resting  in  chains 
suspended  from  the  ceiling  of  their  habitation,  one  bee  cling- 
ing Avith  its  fore  feet  to  the  hind  feet  of  the  one  above  it, 
until  it  seems  impossible  that  the  upper  one  can  be  strong 
enough  to  hold  on  to  the  ceiling  and  support  the  weight  of 
so  many  hundreds,  without  letting  them  di*op.  But  all 
these  circumstances  will  be  mentioned  in  their  proper  places  ; 
and,  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  our  readers  with  a  com- 
plete history  of  this  most  interesting  species  of  insects,  as 
well  as  with  correct  ideas  of  their  proper  management,  we 
propose  to  explain  in  order : 

1st.   The  different  individuals  of  which  a  bee-hive  is 
composed ; 

2d.    The  diiferent  kinds  of  bee-hives ; 

3d.    The  laying  of  their  eggs  ; 

4ith.  The  development  of  the  egg ; 

5th.  The  swarms ; 

6tk.  Their  sting,  and  battles  ; 

7tk.  The  collection  of  honey  and  wax ; 

8th.   The  combs ; 

9th.  The  honey  harvest ; 
10th.  The  uses  of  wax  and  honey. 


260  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

First,  then,  every  bee-hive  is  composed  of  three  different 
individuals,  viz. :  one  female,  called  the  Queen  Bee,  who  is 
the  sovereign  ;  a  number  of  males  called  Drones,  'w\\o  rep- 
resent the  peers ;  and  a  large  number  of  working-bees, 
which  are  also  females,  but  of  an  imperfect  organization. 

The  Queen  Bee  has  a  slender  body,  armed  with  a  sting, 
and  very  short  wings.  The  drones  are  larger  and  thicker ; 
they  have  long  wings,  but  no  stings,  and  consequently  arC' 
harmless.  The  working  bees  are  smaller  than  either,  but 
are  by  far  the  most  numerous ;  in  a  large  hive,  their  num- 
ber is  not  unfrequently  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand,  and 
sometimes  more.  They  are  the  proletarians  in  that  mon- 
archy, and  their  business  is  to  nurse  the  young  ones,  to 
build  the  combs,  and  to  collect  the  pollen  and  nectar  of 
flowers,  with  which  they  prepare  their  honey  and  wax.  All 
these  materials  which  they  collect  they  carry  home  in  their 
fossa,  a  spoon-like  excavation  in  their  hind  legs.  They, 
like  their  queen,  are  armed  with  a  sting. 

The  Queen  Bee  is  not  only  the  sovereign,  but  also  the 
mother  of  the  hive,  and  it  is  probably  because  all  look  to 
her  as  the  only  one  capable  of  propagating  the  race  that 
she  is  held  in  such  high  estimation.  Her  progeny  is  enor- 
mous, for  she  lays  eggs  to  the  number  of  several  thousands. 
But  who  is  the  father  of  this  immense  brood  has  been  a 
question  of  dispute  for  ages,  and  is  still  not  satisfactorily 
settled.  Natui'alists  have  always  supposed  the  drones  en- 
titled to  the  parentage,  as  they  are  the  only  males  in  the 
establishment ;  but  Keaumure,  and  many  others  who  have  in- 
defatigably  watched  the  manoeuvres  of  the  Queen  Bee,  both 
night  and  day,  have  never  yet  been  able  to  detect  her  in 
any  act  of  copulation.  The  queen  has  even  been  confined 
in  a  glass  hive  with  the  drones,  separate  from  the  workers, 
but  no  intercourse  took  place,  and  all  died  a  few  days  after- 
ward. Huber  gives  as  his  opinion  that  the  queen  has  in- 
tercourse with  the  drones  when  taking  flight  with  them  in 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED  INSECTS.  261 

the  air ;  but  this  can  hardly  be  possible,  because  the  queen 
is  constantly  occupied  in  dropping  her  enormous  number 
of  eggs  into  the  cells,  and  has  no  time  to  fly  out ;  besides 
she  is  not  able  to  make  flying  excursions,  because  her  wings 
are  too  short,  and  her  "body  too  heavy.  It  is,  moreover, 
not  a  little  absurd  to  suppose  that  Nature  should  have 
placed  one  female  at  the  disposal  of  a  thousand  males,  who, 
in  order  to  gain  her  ftwor,  would  quari'el  and  murder  one 
another  until  the  whole  colony  would  be  destroyed.  We 
must  conclude,  then,  that  her  majesty  the  Queen  Bee  de- 
serves to  be  titled  the  Virgin  Mother  and  Queen  of  the  Bees. 

But  the  eggs  of  the  queen,  after  they  have  been  deposited 
by  her  in  the  cells,  are  probably  fecundated  by  the  drones, 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  male  fishes  fructify  the  spawn. 
To  this  opinion  is  objected  the  fact  that  the  drones  are  mas- 
sacred by  the  working  bees  every  autumn,  and  if  so,  how 
can  eggs  laid  in  the  spring  be  fecundated?  We  answer, 
that  we  have  never  seen  a  hive,  even  in  Avinter,  that  did  not 
contain  drones,  and  if  we  had,  there  is  no  reason  why  they 
could  not  have  fecundated  the  empty  cells  previous  to  their 
death.  At  all  events,  it  is  conceded  that  the  drones,  being 
the  only  males,  are  the  only  agents  connected  with  the  hive 
that  are  capable  of  fructifying  the  eggs,  whatever  be  the 
process  by  which  it  is  done. 

The  drones  are  larger  than  the  working  bees  and  have  a 
rounder  head.  They  are  called  by  the  French  "Bourdons," 
because  they  hum  louder  than  the  others,  and  they  are  vis- 
ible only  from  the  beginning  of  May  to  the  end  of  July. 
Their  number  is  about  ten  or  twelve  times  less  than  that 
of  the  workers,  and  their  chief  business,  as  we  have  said, 
is  to  fecundate  the  eggs  which  are  deposited  in  the  cells  by 
the  queen. 

It  was  known  in  ancient  times  that  a  large  bee  with  a 
long  body  and  short  wings  existed  in  every  hive,  and  it  was 
called  the  King  of  the  Bees,  and  to  him  was  attributed  the 


262  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

highest  degree  of  wisdom  in  governing  and  managing  the 
different  inhabitants  of  the  hive.  This  opinion  was  uni- 
versal until  about  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  years  ago,  when 
Swammerdam,  by  a  series  of  profound  anatomical  investi- 
gations, proved  that  this  so-called  king  was  a  female,  which 
lays  all  the  eggs  necessary  to  the  growth  and  multiplication 
of  the  society  she  governs,  and  which  accordingly  is  now 
called  the  Queen  Bee.  Aristotle  and  Virgil  held  the  opin- 
ion that  this  bee  lays  no  eggs  at  all,  but  only  brings  home 
some  substance  from  the  flowers  and  fruits,  from  which  the 
maggots  originated.  This  opinion,  also,  was  proved  erro- 
neous by  anatomical  investigation;  and  to  prove  its  falsity  it 
is  only  necessary  to  open  the  body  of  the  Queen  Bee,  when 
several  thousand  eggs  will  be  found  within  her. 

The  best  way  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  Queen 
Bee  is  to  divide  a  new  swarm,  and  put  each  into  a  separate 
hive.  The  one  which  is  in  possession  of  the  queen  will 
soon  be  contented,  and  then  she  can  be  seen  running  about 
at  the  bottom  of  the  hive  entirely  alone ;  but  after  a  little 
time  about  a  dozen  of  the  working  bees  will  surround  and 
accompany  her,  and  their  number  will  gradually  increase. 
Some  approach  her  and  are  caressed  by  her  proboscis, 
while  others  offer  her  honey  with  their  proboscis,  and  she 
licks  it  off.  Eeaumure,  having  divided  a  swarm  in  this 
manner,  says  that  the  smaller  one,  with  the  queen,  worked 
very  negligently  for  several  days,  and  then  swarmed  with 
the  queen  and  placed  themselves  upon  a  twig  of  a  tree,  prob- 
ably because  their  number  was  too  small  to  promise  a  large 
progeny.  After  he  had  put  them  into  the  hive  several 
times,  they  went  off  again,  and  finally  united  with  the  bees 
of  a  neighboring  hive,  where  they  were  all  massacred.  The 
other  swarm,  without  a  queen,  seemed  to  be  satisfied  at 
first,  several  of  them  going  out  the  following  day,  but  re- 
turning without  bringing  home  any  provisions  or  materials. 
They  remained  in  this  condition  six  days  without  making  a 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  263 

single  cell,  and  in  three  weeks,  without  having  accomplished 
any  work,  the  greater  part  of  them  flew  away,  while  the  one 
thousand  which  remained  were  found  dead  in  the  hive  the 
next  morning.  This  experiment  was  repeated  several  times, 
but  always  with  the  same  unhappy  result. 

From  these  and  such  like  experiments  we  are  convinced 
that  they  do  not  work  if  their  number  is  not  sufficiently 
large,  or  if  they  have  no  queen,  and  therefore  that  the  ob- 
ject of  their  labor  is  to  rear  and  provide  for  a  numerous 
progeny.  If  in  the  spring  we  observe  bees  returning  from 
the  meadows  and  gardens  with  empty  fosste,  and  if  we  as- 
certain that  no  new  combs  have  been  made  since  winter,  we 
may  be  certain  tliat  the  queen  is  dead.  Every  day  less  and 
less  bees  retui'n  to  such  a  hive,  and  by  the  month  of  June 
scarcely  one  thousand  can  be  found  in  the  hive.  They  per- 
ish, or  they  try  to  smuggle  themselves  into  another  hive, 
where  they  are  generally  killed. 

In  order  to  prove  that  the  bees  always  follow  the  queen, 
Swammerdam  fastened  a  hair  on  her  foot,  and  tied  it  to  the 
top  of  a  pole,  which  he  stuck  in  the  ground  in  his  garden. 
The  whole  swarm  immediately  followed,  and  surrounded  the 
queeu  on  all  sides.  In  this  manner  he  was  able  to  carry 
the  whole  swarm  any  where  he  pleased.  Labet  relates  that 
he  found,  in  his  travels  through  Western  Africa,  a  man  who 
called  himself  the  Lord  of  the  Bees,  because  they  constantly 
followed  him,  flying  about  him  wherever  he  went,  alighting 
on  his  cap,  face,  shoulders,  and  hands,  without  stinging  him. 
The  people  thought  that  he  had  rubbed  himself  with  some 
plant  or  substance  that  prevented  their  stinging  him  ;  but 
the  secret  of  all  these  manoeuvres  probably  consisted  in  his 
carrying  a  queen  concealed  in  his  cap  or  elsewhere. 

It  is  not  their  admiration  for  the  queen's  beauty  or  es- 
teem for  her  rank  that  makes  the  bees  follow  her  and  min- 
ister unto  her  wants,  but  rather  their  attachment  to  the  in- 
dividual which  produces  eggs,  and  from  whom  they  expect 


264  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

a  numerous  progeny.  If,  for  instance,  some  hundred  bees 
are  taken  from  one  hive  and  transferred  into  an  empty  one, 
they  are  at  first  very  unruly,  but  as  soon  as  a  strange  queen 
is  put  into  it  they  collect  around  her,  as  if  about  to  celebrate 
a  great  holiday;  they  lick  her  for  hours,  press  themselves 
close  around  her,  creep  under  her,  lift  her  up  and  cover  her 
on  all  sides.  Soon  after  they  fly  out,  collect  materials  for 
wax,  and  in  the  first  twenty-four  hours  make  a  comb  about 
the  size  of  a  half-dollar  piece,  without  paying  the  least  at- 
tention to  the  hive  from  which  they  were  taken,  even  if  it 
is  near  by.  Such  small  colonies,  however,  never  prosper, 
but  soon  emigrate  with  their  queen  and  perish. 

If  a  queen  and  some  of  the  working  bees  are  thrown  into 
water  until  they  are  nearly  dead,  and  are  then  brought 
into  a  warm  place,  the  latter,  as  soon  as  they  recover  from 
the  shock  sufficiently  to  move,  begin  to  manifest  their  anx- 
iety for  the  queen,  and  endeavor  to  restore  her  to  life  by 
licking  her ;  and  as  soon  as  she  moves  a  limb  a  cheerful  huz- 
za is  expressed  by  a  general  humming.  The  bees  show  a 
similar  affection  toward  every  queen  without  distinction ; 
even  if  two  strange  queens  are  put  into  a  full  hive,  a  crowd 
immediately  collects  around  them  and  begins  to  hum,  and 
soon  the  humming  becomes  general  throughout  the  hive. 

This  fact  does  not  seem  in  consonance  with  the  common 
opinion  that  only  one  queen  bee  is  permitted  in  a  hive,  which 
is  undoubtedly  true ;  but  then  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  reason  Avhy  they  can  not  live  together  is  only  on  account 
of  the  persecution  of  the  legitimate  queen,  because  the  bees 
have  no  other  desire  than  to  people  their  hive  as  quickly 
and  as  much  as  possible ;  and  in  this  instinct  teaches  them 
right,  for  a  thickly-peopled  hive  will  endure  the  coldest  win- 
ter, while  one  that  contains  but  a  few  will  perish  for  want 
of  the  necessary  higher  temperature  produced  by  them. 
But  if  there  is  more  than  one  queen  in  a  hive,  these  two  la- 
dies settle  their  pretensions  to  the  throne  by  single  combat, 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  265 

while  neither  their  coward  peers  nor  the  proletarians  will 
interfere,  they  being  indifferent  who  is  at  the  head  of  their 
government,  except  that,  according  to  the  law  of  their  na- 
ture, they  must  have  a  female  sovereign.  It  is,  therefore,  a 
fixed  fact  that  in  their  female  monarchy  the  bees  have  love 
for  nothing  else  except  for  their  progeny,  and  that  they  work 
not  only  for  their  own  subsistence,  but  more  even  for  that 
of  their  successors  and  descendants. 

2.  The  different  I\jnds  of  Bee-hives. — As  wild  bees, 
in  the  forests  of  all  countries,  make  use  of  hollow  trees  for 
their  dwellings,  it  was  natural  that  the  persons  who  first 
domesticated  the  bees  should  imitate  them  in  the  construc- 
tion of  their  habitations.  Accordingly,  the  first  bee-hives 
were  made  by  hollowing  out  the  trunk  of  a  tree  ;  and  such 
rustic  bee-hives  were  still  in  use  thirty  years  ago,  when  we 
traveled  through  Hungary  and  Poland.  We  found  them 
also  in  the  Ukraine  and  Russia,  where  a  single  proprietor 
had  from  three  to  four  hundred  such  hives  fenced  in,  and 
under  shelter  in  some  open  space  in  the  forests.  A  hand- 
some income  was  there  derived  from  these  animals,  their 
food  costing  not  a  single  farthing. 

Another  kind  of  hive,  in  shape  like  a  bell,  and  construct- 
ed of  willow  boughs,  or  moi-e  commonly  of  straw,  is  frequent- 
ly seen  in  Germany,  France,  and  Great  Britain ;  but  they 
are  very  inconvenient  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  taking 
out  the  honey  without  destroying  the  bees.  It  is  true,  how- 
ever, that  straw-hives  will  best  protect  these  insects  from  the 
intense  heat  of  summer,  as  well  as  from  the  great  cold  of 
winter. 

Bee-hives  in  the  shape  of  an  oblong  box,  composed  of 
four  boards  with  a  movable  top,  are  very  common  in  this 
country,  and  are  more  convenient  than  the  straw-hives,  for 
taking  out  the  honey  and  wax,  which  is  done  by  removing 
the  cover  and  placing  over  the  box  an  empty  one  of  the 
same  size,  inverted  so  that  both  open  tops  shall  come  togeth- 

M 


266  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

er.  If  then  the  lower  box  be  gently  beaten  with  a  stick, 
the  bees  will  ascend  to  the  upper  one,  and  the  box  contain- 
ing the  honey  can  be  removed  and  emptied  at  pleasure,  with- 
out any  destruction  of  the  bees.  But  these  boxes  must  not 
be  exposed  during  the  winter,  or  its  inhabitants  will  perish 
of  cold  and  hunger. 

Within  the  past  few  years  great  improvements  have  been 
made  in  the  construction  of  hives,  both  in  Europe  and  in 
North  America.  Among  the  Europeans,  the  hive  of  Pro- 
fessor Huber,  of  Geneva,  occupies  the  first  rank ;  but  there 
are  many  others  in  use  which  are  described  by  Eobert  Huish, 
in  his  "Treatise  on  Bees,"  and  also  in  "The  Naturalist's 
Library." 

Among  the  many  patent  hives  of  North  America,  we  feel 
justified  in  recommending  the  "Platform  Bee-hive,"  in- 
vented in  1853  by  Sylvester  Davis,  of  Claremont,  New 
Hampshire.  At  the  "  Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all 
Nations,"  in  the  Crystal  Palace  at  New  York,  this  hive  re- 
ceived the  medal  for  its  ingenuity  and  practical  utility  in 
the  keeping  of  bees.  The  Committee  of  the  Ohio  State 
Board  of  Agriculture,  also,  awarded  a  silver  medal  and  di- 
ploma to  the  inventor ;  and  they  spoke  in  special  terms  of 
commendation  of  the  combined  merits  of  this  hive,  the  in- 
vention of  which  has  reduced  the  matter  of  keeping  bees  to 
a  system,  which  vies  with  the  manufacture  of  honey  by  the 
bees  themselves.  This  hive  has  also  taken  the  first  premi- 
um at  the  State  and  County  Fairs  in  Vermont,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts,  Indiana,  and  Ohio,  and  justly  so,  for 
with  it  any  one  may  keep  bees  with  perfect  safety  and  suc- 
cess, since  all  diflBculty  and  uncertainty  are  entirely  removed. 
With  it  the  bees  may  be  made  to  swarm  from  one  or  more 
hives,  or  may  be  conducted  into  any  one  hive  without 
swarming,  and  still  have  a  full  supply  of  queens,  while  all 
the  bees  are  entirely  protected  from  the  bee-moth,  and  other 
insects  which  annoy  and  ruin  them.     The  work  and  prog- 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  267 

ress  of  the  bees,  also,  may  be  seen  in  the  hives,  honey-box- 
es, and  feed-drawers,  and  each  step  of  their  development 
may  be  watched.  Mr.  Davis,  also,  has  a  preparation  with 
which  to  feed  the  bees  in  winter  and  spring,  which  costs 
about  three  cents  a  pound,  and  another  kind  of  food,  com- 
posed of  seven  different  articles,  which  he  uses  after  the 
blossoms  disappear,  and  which  costs  from  five  to  six  cents  a 
pound.  This  Platform  Bee-hive,  with  a  book  giving  full 
directions  for  making  the  hive,  feeding  and  managing  the 
bees,  may  be  obtained  for  $10  of  the  inventor,  S.  Davis, 
Claremont,  New  Hampshire, 

According  to  the  Report  of  a  Committee  of  the  New  York 
Agricultural  Society,  at  Albany,  September  3,  1850,  the 
profits  of  nine  swarms  of  bees  that  were  fed  were  $383  75  ; 
while  in  1854  Mr.  Davis,  with  his  preparations,  fed  five 
swarms  of  bees,  at  a  net  profit  of  $75  a  swarm ;  show- 
ing a  great  advantage  either  in  the  feeding  or  management 
of  the  bees. 

In  order  to  observe  the  operations  of  the  bees  in  a  hive 
at  least  two  sides  of  it  must  be  of  glass,  covered  with  shut- 
ters which  can  be  opened  at  pleasure.  In  this  way  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  combs  form  perpendicular  and  parallel 
walls,  with  intermediate  spaces,  or  streets,  wide  enough  for 
two  bees  to  pass  one  another.  Each  comb  has  cells  on  both 
sides,  with  here  and  there  passages  through  the  comb,  which 
give  the  bees  much  shorter  and  speedier  access  from  one  side 
to  the  other.  But  this  internal  construction  of  the  hive  is 
subject  to  many  irregularities,  because  the  bees  always  ac- 
commodate themselves  to  circumstances. 

It  was  formerly  thought  that  the  cells  were  the  habita- 
tions of  the  bees,  because  they  are  seen  so  constantly  putting 
their  heads  into  them  ;  but  this  is  not  so;  they  do  this  either 
to  fecundate  the  eggs,  or  to  put  honey  in  them,  or  else 
they  are  feeding  the  young  ones.  On  account  of  their  mul- 
titude, it  is  almost  impossible  to  observe  the  operations  of 


268  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

one  bee  for  any  length  of  time,  for  it  soon  escapes  the  eye 
and  is  lost  among  the  crowd,  until  it  seems  as  if  all  were 
in  the  greatest  confusion  and  disorder.  This,  however,  may 
be  partially  avoided  by  marking  one  or  more  bees  upon  the 
neck  with  a  solution  of  sealing-wax  in  alcohol. 

3d.  The  laying  of  Eggs. — The  Queen  Bee  resides  in  the 
interior  of  the  hive,  between  two  combs,  and  has  no  other 
business  than  to  deposit  an  egg  in  each  empty  cell,  which 
is  done  very  quickly,  and  principally  during  the  months  of 
April  and  May.  The  egg  is  oblong,  white,  and  fastened  at 
one  end  to  the  bottom  of  the  cell.  During  the  season  of 
laying  the  eggs  the  bees  work  with  indefatigable  industry 
in  order  to  furnish  the  necessary  number  of  cells ;  and  so  fast 
do  they  accomplish  their  task  that  a  comb  nine  inches  long 
is  often  built  in  one  day,  and  yet,  notwithstanding  this  ra- 
pidity, the  queen  is  often  obliged  to  deposit  her  eggs  in  half- 
finished  cells.  When  thus  occupied  in  discharging  the  grand 
function  of  her  life,  she  marches  with  great  dignity,  always 
accompanied  by  a  dozen  or  more  of  her  subjects,  like  the 
Virgin  Queen  with  her  courtiers. 

We  may  form  some  estimate  of  the  enormous  number  of 
eggs  which  the  queen  lays,  from  the  size  of  a  swarm  which 
leaves  the  parental  roof  in  May  or  June.  Such  a  swarm 
will  number  about  twelve  thousand,  and  the  eggs  from 
which  they  came  were  laid  in  the  preceding  months  of 
March  or  April ;  but  still  the  queen  continues  laying,  and 
we  may  obtain  one  or  two  more  swarms  from  the  same  hive 
during  the  summer.  Each  queen  lays  a  few  eggs  from  which 
proceed  queens,  and  from  seven  hundred  to  a  thousand  eggs 
from  which  proceed  drones,  while  all  the  rest  will  produce 
working  bees. 

Ath.  Development  of  the  Egg. — The  egg  is  fastened  by 
one  end  to  the  bottom  of  the  cell,  so  that  it  looks  as  if  it 
were  suspended  in  the  air.  It  is  soft  and  smooth,  and  is 
five  times  as  long  as  it  is  thick.     It  was  formerly  believed 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  269 

that  these  eggs  were  developed  slowly,  being  hatched  by  the 
di'ones,  but  this  is  now  proved  to  be  impossible,  because  bees 
are  cold-blooded,  and  that  process  would  be  useless,  while 
the  temperature  in  a  hive  is  as  high  as  that  under  a  brood- 
hen.  The  eggs  are  first  developed  into  maggots  which  are 
scarcely  able  to  move  :  they  have  a  mouth  like  a  caterpillar, 
two  white  eyes,  and  ten  aii'-holes,  which  are  their  respirato- 
ry oi'gans,  on  the  sides  of  the  body.  They  are  fed  with 
honey  by  the  workers  for  about  a  week,  after  which  time 
their  nurses  make  a  wax  cover  over  the  cell,  and  inclose  the 
maggot  within,  which  then  becomes  a  pupa,  remains  ten 
days  in  this  condition,  and  then  breaks  open  its  wax  cover, 
creeps  out  from  the  cell,  dries  its  Avings,  runs  about  over  the 
combs  for  a  while,  and  then  flies  away  out  of  the  hive  in 
company  with  its  companions  to  collect  materials  and  pro- 
visions for  the  hive. 

Sth.  The  Swarms. — Of  the  immense  number  of  eggs 
laid  by  the  queen,  those  of  the  workers  are  laid  first,  then 
those  of  the  drones,  and  at  last  those  of  the  young  queens ; 
and  as  the  eggs  are  developed  into  perfect  bees  as  often  as 
every  four  weeks  during  the  season,  the  new  progeny,  with 
a  young  queen  at  their  head,  swarms — that  is,  they  leave  the 
hive,  and  become  the  founders  of  a  new  colony.  This  emi- 
gration principally  occurs  during  the  months  of  May  and 
June,  and  between  10  o'clock  a.m.  and  3  o'clock  p.m.  They 
issue  in  such  crowds  that  the  air  looks  as  if  filled  with 
snow,  and,  flying  about  for  a  while,  finally  settle  themselves 
upon  the  limb  of  a  tree,  crowded  close  together,  and  hang- 
ing one  upon  another  in  a  lump,  which  resembles  a  long 
and  bushy  beard.  It  is,  therefoi-e,  the  best  plan  to  have  no 
high  trees  near  the  apiary,  for  if  the  swarms  are  obliged  to 
fly  high  up  before  they  lodge  on  the  tree  they  are  frequently 
lost.  In  such  a  case  some  people  throw  up  fine  sand  into 
the  air,  which  affects  the  bees  like  rain,  and  makes  them  de- 
scend.    In  some  places  they  drum  with  iron  upon  tin  pans, 


270  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

brass  kettles,  etc.,  to  make  the  bees  swarm,  because  it  was 
observed  that  sounds  imitating  thunder  make  them  hasten 
home. 

After  a  swarm  has  alighted  and  hangs  from  a  limb,  it 
must  gently  be  placed  in  an  empty  hive  made  ready  for  that 
purpose,  the  inside  of  which  is  to  be  perfumed  with  some 
aromatic  plant,  as  lavender,  or  mint,  etc.,  and  then  left  in 
a  shady  place  upon  the  ground  until  after  sunset,  when  it 
may  be  removed  to  its  destined  place  in  the  apiary.  But 
if  a  swarm  should  happen  to  settle  w^ithin  a  hollow  tree,  it 
must  be  drawn  out  during  the  night  with  a  long  and  flat 
stick,  and  then  placed  in  the  hive. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  there  are  two  queens  in  one 
swarm,  which  then  separates  into  two  very  unequal  lumps, 
one  perhaps  as  large  as  a  man's  head,  and  the  other  about 
the  size  of  an  orange ;  but  the  two  often  unite  again,  even 
at  the  expense  of  one  of  the  queens.  Eeaumure  had  a 
swarm  with  three  queens,  which  he  placed  in  a  hive.  The 
first  and  second  day  the  bees  seemed  to  be  contented,  but 
very  inactive  ;  the  second  day  one  of  the  queens  was  found 
dead,  and  on  the  following  day  another,  and  then  for  the 
first  time  the  bees  began  to  work.  This  is  the  case  with 
all  such  swarms ;  the  supernumerary  queens  are  always 
killed,  for  these  unhappy  creatures  can  not,  like  human  sov- 
ereigns, find  a  safe  asylum  in  foreign  countries,  but  are  al- 
ways murdered  by  their  rivals. 

Swarms  differ  in  size,  according  to  several  circumstances 
that  have  been  already  mentioned ;  some  will  weigh  only 
four  pounds,  while  others  will  weigh  from  eight  to  ten 
pounds,  or  even  more.  A  good  swarm  weighs  generally 
from  six  to  eight  pounds,  and  the  weight,  of  course,  is  as- 
certained by  weighing  first  the  empty  hive,  and  afterward 
the  full  one.  If  the  bees  are  satisfied  with  the  hive,  and 
have  been  properly  swarmed,  they  soon  ascend  to  the  upper 
part  of  it,  and  in  course  of  two  days  will  make  a  comb 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  271 

more  tlian  a  foot  long,  and  four  inches  wide,  before  tliey 
fly  out,  which  fact  is  regarded  as  a  proof  that  they  produce 
wax  from  their  own  bodies,  without  having  ever  collected 
any  of  the  pollen  of  flowers  or  other  materials  for  that  pur- 
pose. If  the  weather  is  fine,  they  fly  out  on  the  third  day 
for  the  purpose  of  collecting  their  materials,  and  in  twenty- 
four  hours  after  a  comb  may  often  be  seen,  twenty  inches 
long,  by  eight  inches  wide ;  and  in  five  days  half  of  the  hive 
will  be  filled  with  combs. 

(!)th.  Their  Sting  and  Battles. — The  proboscis  of  mos- 
quitoes and  horse-flies  forms  their  venomous  weapon  of  de- 
fense ;  but  this  member  is  entirely  harmless  in  the  bee,  while 
their  sting,  which  is  found  at  the  hindmost  extremity  of 
their  bodies,  is  much  more  formidable,  and  in  its  construc- 
tion is  somcw^hat  remarkable  and  deserving  of  notice.  If  a 
bee  be  taken  by  the  neck  between  two  fingers,  or,  what  is 
safer,  between  the  blades  of  a  pair  of  forceps,  it  will  bend 
itself  toward  the  part  where  it  is  held,  and  repeatedly  dart 
forth  its  sting  for  the  purpose  of  inflicting  a  wound.  If  the 
hind  body  be  pressed  in  the  same  manner,  the  sting  will  be 
forced  out,  and  although  it  is  very  thin,  it  may  readily  be 
examined  with  the  naked  eye,  and  a  small  drop  of  venom 
will  be  seen  at  its  extremity,  which  is  proof  that  it  is  hol- 
low. With  the  further  assistance  of  a  magnifying  glass,  we 
find  that  this  sting  is  composed  of  four  parts,  like  bristles 
united  together,  of  which  the  two  internal  ones  are  armed 
with  a  hook.  These  four  bristles  are  all  inserted  in  the 
wound  made  by  the  sting,  which  is  thus  formed  into  a  hol- 
low tube,  filled  with  clear  and  fluid  venom,  which  proceeds 
from  a  small  bladder  at  its  upper  part  within  the  body. 
Hence  if  a  bee  is  suddenly  driven  away  as  soon  as  it  has 
stung  a  person,  the  whole  of  the  sting  remains  in  the  wound, 
retained  by  its  hook,  and  with  it  also  remains  the  venom- 
bag,  with  some  of  the  entrails,  on  account  of  which  the  bee 
loses  its  life.     All  this  may  be  witnessed  by  forcing  a  bee 


272  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

to  Sting  a  piece  of  leather,  and  suddenly  withdrawing  it,  for 
the  sting  will  remain  upon  the  leather,  and  with  it  a  long 
filament  of  intestine,  with  the  venom-bag. 

That  the  pain  and  swelling  of  the  wound  of  the  honey- 
bee arises  not  from  the  sting  alone,  but  rather  from  the 
venom,  may  easily  be  proved  by  any  one  who  will  prick  his 
finger  with  a  fine  needle  (the  wound  of  which  he  knows  will 
occasion  very  little  pain,  and  will  soon  heal  up  without  tu- 
mefaction), and  insert  into  the  wound  only  a  small  part  of 
a  drop  of  the  venom  of  the  bee,  when  he  will  soon  find  the 
pain  and  swelling  as  great  as  if  stung  by  the  bee  itself.  A 
member  of  the  French  Academy,  who  would  not  believe  in 
the  strength  of  this  venom,  inoculated  a  large  drop  of  it 
into  his  arm,  and  in  consequence  was  convinced  of  his  er- 
ror by  terrible  and  excruciating  suffering.  Another  proof 
of  the  influence  of  this  venom  is  the  fact  that  the  sting  of 
bees  is  compai*atively  insignificant  in  winter;  Avhile  it  is 
worse  in  summer,  when  the  heat  increases  the  quantity  of 
venom  :  the  same  also  as  is  the  case  with  venomous  snakes. 

Reaumure  allowed  a  Avasp  to  sting  him,  and  although  at 
the  expense  of  much  pain,  he  waited  until  that  insect  had 
withdrawn  his  sting,  when  one  of  his  servants,  at  his  re- 
quest, was  soon  after  stung  by  the  same  wasp  and  experi- 
enced very  little  pain ;  immediately  after  Reaumure  was 
again  stung  by  the  same  insect,  and  felt  no  pain  at  all, 
probably  because  its  venom  had  become  exhausted,  and  in 
spite  of  all  his  irritation  he  could  not  make  the  wasp  sting 
for  the  fourth  time.  Swammerdam  made  many  such  ex- 
periments with  bees,  and  even  put  their  venom  upon  his 
tongue,  whereupon  he  experienced  at  first  a  sweet  taste, 
which  soon  became  acrid  and  caustic,  and  so  continued  for 
several  hours.  As  blue  litmus  paper  is  not  reddened  by 
this  venom,  it  is  supposed  not  to  contain  acid ;  but  its  chem- 
ical nature  has  never  been  satisfactorily  determined.  Olive- 
oil  and  vinegar  have  been  recommended  as  remedies  for  the 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  273 

pain  and  tumefaction  caused  by  the  venom  of  bees  ;  but  cold 
water  or  spirits  of  hartsliorn  (volatile  alkali)  is  perhaps 
the  best  application  after  the  sting  has  been  extracted. 
This  latter  remedy  we  have  often  proved,  and  always  carry 
a  phial  of  it  when  making  entomological  excursions ;  we 
have  found  it  universally  successful  in  relieving  the  effects 
of  the  sting  of  bees,  wasps,  mosquitoes,  and  snakes,  partic- 
ularly in  tropical  countries.  Laudanum,  or  onion-juice 
mixed  with  salt,  is  also  an  excellent  remedial  application. 

The  stings  of  bees  are  their  weapons  of  offense  as  well  as 
of  defense  ;  with  them  they  fight  their  battles,  murder  their 
rivals,  and  massacre  the  drones.  During  the  autumn  and 
winter  the  drones  are  a  useless  burden  to  the  community  in 
the  hives,  as  they  do  not  work,  and  could  only  remain  idle 
consumers  of  the  honey  which  the  working  bees  have  man- 
ufactured and  stored  up  for  their  own  use ;  hence  they  are 
murdered  by  wholesale  every  autumn — the  workers  killing 
them  with  their  stings.  In  this  respect  they  are  not  unlike 
the  ancient  Spartans,  whose  laws  allowed  them  to  kill  their 
children  if  they  wei'e  deformed ;  or  the  Chinese,  who  are 
permitted  to  destroy  each  new-born  infant  that  they  deem 
themselves  unable  to  support ;  or  the  savages,  who  believe 
it  their  religious  duty  to  kill  all  the  superannuated  or  infirm 
among  them,  and  thus  put  them  out  of  misery. 

Besides  this  annual  massacre  of  the  drones,  the  working- 
bees  fight  battles  among  themselves  in  the  hives,  where  one 
throws  herself  with  great  fury  upon  another ;  then,  coming 
out  of  the  hive,  they  fall  to  the  ground,  and  wrestle  together 
head  to  head,  continually  trying  to  sting  one  another,  until 
at  last  one  or  the  other  succeeds  in  thrusting  its  sting  be- 
tween two  ringlets,  or  into  the  head  of  the  other,  and  thus 
kills  her.  Very  often,  however,  the  sting  of  the  victor  re- 
mains in  the  wound  of  the  slain,  and,  if  so,  she  also  soon 
perishes.  Such  a  battle  sometimes  continues  only  a  few 
minutes,  while  at  others  it  lasts  for  hours  before  the  fatal 

M2 


274  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

victory  is  won.  Aristotle  mentions  the  fact  that  in  his 
time  horses  were  stung  to  death  by  bees,  and  such  in- 
stances have  also  happened  in  modern  times  ;  so  that  it  is 
actually  dangerous  for  little  children  to  have  their  play- 
ground too  near  an  apiary.  Like  the  ants,  also,  the  bees 
consider  the  inhabitants  of  other  hives  as  their  enemies,  and 
wage  deadly  war  upon  them  whenever  they  come  in  con- 
tact ;  so  that  if  a  swarm  loses  its  way  and  enters  a  full 
hive  a  jnurderous  battle  ensues,  sometimes  lasting  a  whole 
afternoon,  or  until  not  a  vestige  of  the  enemy  remains. 
/■  There  was  fgrmerly  some  dispute  as  to  whether  or  not 
'/  the  queen  bee  was  armed  with  a  sting  like  the  workers. 
It  is  true  that  she  is  very  quiet  and  peaceable,  not  so  much 
disposed  to  fight  as  the  workers,  and  will  even  run  upon  the 
hand  without  inflicting  any  wound ;  but  as  soon  as  you 
touch  her,  or  she  is  in  any  way  irritated,  she  will  dart  out 
her  sting  at  you,  and  its  venom  is  as  strong  as  that  of  the 
others.    With  it,  at  all  events,  she  kills  all  her  rival  queens./? 

1th.  The  Collection  of  Wax  and  Honey. — In  order  to 
understand  the  modus  operandi  of  this  the  principal  occupa- 
tion of  the  bees,  it  is  necessary  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  instruments  with  which  they  work.  The  head  of  the 
bee  is  covered  with  hair,  which  is  completely  powdered 
with  pollen  when  the  head  is  thrust  into  the  open  blossom 
of  a  flower.  On  each  side  of  the  head  are  two  oblong 
eyes,  and  above  and  between  them  three  small  stemmata, 
or  coroneted  eyes,  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  triangle,  while 
a  little  below  are  two  antennae,  probably  the  organs  of  hear- 
ing. Below  these  are  two  horny  jaws  and  their  proboscis. 
The  neck,  trunk,  or  thorax,  is  united  to  the  head  by  a 
thread-like  ligament,  and  to  its  upper  part  are  attached 
four  wings,  while  from  its  under  part  proceed  six  legs. 
The  hind  body,  or  abdomen,  consists  of  six  scaly  ringlets, 
and  is  attached  to  the  thorax  by  a  slender  ligament.  With 
regard  to  their  legs,  it  is  necessary  to  know  that  their  fore 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  275 

feet  are  used  in  the  capacity  of  hands,  with  which  they 
collect  the  pollen,  brush  it  from  the  head,  move  it  along  to 
the  second  pair  of  legs,  and  thence  to  the  hind  legs,  which 
are  much  longer  than  the  others,  and  upon  each  of  which 
is  a  small  triangular  cavity,  shaped  something  like  a  spoon, 
and  hence  called  a  fossa,  which  is  destined  to  receive  the 
pollen  of  flowers,  which  they  thus  carry  to  their  hives,  for 
the  purpose  of  furnishing  food  for  themselves  and  the 
drones,  and  for  the  manufacture  of  wax.  Humble-bees 
have  similar  baskets,  or  fossEe,  in  their  hind  legs. 

It  was  formerly  supposed  by  many,  even  by  some  dis- 
tinguished naturalists,  that  the  bees  were  blind ;  but  so  ab- 
surd an  idea  can  easily  be  proved  erroneous  by  covering 
their  eyes  with  thick  varnish,  when,  being  unable  to  fly 
around,  they  rise  perpendicularly  in  the  air  and  disappear, 
in  the  same  manner  as  does  a  crow,  to  which  a  bait  be- 
smeared with  bird-lime  has  become  fastened  on  its  head. 

Notwithstanding  the  ingenious  Francis  Huber,  of  Geneva, 
tried,  by  several  experiments,  to  prove  that  the  wax  pro- 
ceeds from  the  honey,  and  not  from  pollen,  still  the  previ- 
ous experiments  of  Reaumure,  as  well  as  those  of  some  of 
the  most  experienced  apiarians  since,  have  distinctly  de- 
monstrated the  contrary,  as  is  also  stated  in  the  "  Treatise 
on  Bees,  by  Robert  Huish,  London,  1815."  Reaumure  says 
that  the  bees  collect  the  substance  of  wax  only  from  flow- 
■ers,  filling  their  fossa?  or  leg-cavities  with  farina,  and  lick- 
ing from  the  bottom  of  the  blossoms  the  nectar,  or  sweet 
substance,  which  they  swallow,  and  afterward  disgorge  it 
into  the  cells.  But  in  the  same  manner  they  also  gather 
from  other  vegetables  a  viscous  substance,  which  they  carry 
home  in  their  fossce,  and  with  this  gluey  matter,  collected 
from  the  poplar,  birch,  willow,  fir,  and  other  trees,  and  the 
farina  they  compose  a  glutinous  aromatic  substance  called 
propolis,  which  is  similar  to  wax,  but  different  in  its  fabrica- 
tion ;  in  fact  it  is  wax,  but  coarser  in  its  constitution.     The 


276  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

bees  use  it  to  close  all  the  crevices  of  their  habitation  ;  the}' 
also  cover  the  bodies  of  interlopers  w^ith  it,  such  as  large  in- 
sects, snails,  etc.,  w^hich  enter  the  hive,  and  whose  bodies 
are  too  heavy  for  them  to  carry  out ;  and  with  this  substance, 
also,  they  glue  their  combs  to  the  side  Avails  of  the  hive. 

The  distinguished  apiarian,  Huish,  speaking  of  the  pro- 
polis, says,  "  It  is  a  resin,  soluble  in  spirit  of  wine  and  oil  of 
turpentine.  Independently  of  the  use  to  which  it  is  applied 
in  medicine  as  a  digestive,  it  has  been  discovered  by  ex- 
periment that,  dissolved  in  the  above  solvents,  it  forms  an 
excellent  substitute  for  the  varnish  which  is  used  in  giving 
the  color  of  gold  to  silver,  or  to  tin  made  into  foil.  If,  for 
example,  it  be  incoi'porated  with  mastic  or  sandarac  it 
would  be  excellent  in  the  gilding  of  leather,  etc." 

The  pollen  of  flowers,  called  also  farina  or  ambrosia,  and 
erithace  and  cerintlie  by  Pliny,  is,  as  may  be  daily  demon- 
strated, the  real  food  of  the  bees,  and  therefore  deserves  the 
name  which  has  been  given  to  it,  of  bee-bread.  This  dust, 
which  is  found  on  the  top  of  the  stamens  of  all  flowers,  and 
which  the  bees  collect  and  transport  in  their  fossae  to  their 
hives,  is  their  real  food  and  nourishment,  and  also  the  real 
material  from  which  they  manufacture  both  the  propolis 
and  the  wax. 

But  how  these  little  creatures  transform  the  pollen  into 
wax  is  a  very  different  matter,  and  a  question  which  has 
puzzled  the  most  learned  naturalists  from  the  time  of  Aris- 
totle, 300  B.C.,  to  the  present  century.  It  is  true  that  there 
are  trees  and  shrubs  which  furnish  a  wax-like  substance ; 
for  instance,  the  wax-tree,  or  bayberry  {Myrica  ceriferd), 
found  in  all  our  Northern  and  Southern  States,  from  the 
berries  of  which  we  obtain,  by  boiling  them,  a  green  waxy 
substance,  which  is  used  for  making  candles,  and  of  which 
berries  one  pound  will  make  two  ounces  of  wax ;  but  from 
the  pollen  of  flowers  no  one  has  ever  been  able  to  make  any 
kind  of  wax.     If  bees,  returning  from  their  excursions  to 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS,  277 

the  hive  with  bee-bread,  are  caught  with  a  bird-lime  twig, 
and  examined  with  a  powerful  magnifying  glass,  this  farina, 
which  they  carry  in  their  fossre,  shows  no  difference  from  its 
former  condition,  when  on  the  stamen.  If  it  is  held,  in  a 
spoon,  over  the  fire,  it  will  not  melt  as  wax  does,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  will  burn  to  ashes. 

It  was  at  one  time  believed  that  the  pollen,  mixed  with 
the  honey,  or  the  venom  of  bees,  would  produce  wax ;  but 
all  the  experiments  made  in  this  manner,  or  for  this  pur- 
pose, proved  a  failure.  The  pollen  must,  therefore,  undergo 
a  chemical  change  within  the  body  of  the  bee  before  it  can 
become  wax ;  and,  in  order  to  make  the  latter  from  the  for- 
mer, it  is  necessary  that  the  bees  swallow  the  pollen,  when 
it  is  manufactured  into  wax  within  their  stomachs.  Ac- 
cording to  Reaumure,  it  is  then  disgorged  by  the  mouth  as 
wax ;  but,  according  to  the  observations  of  Huber  and  other 
apiarians,  the  wax  comes  out  in  little  scales  from  the  abdo- 
men, between  the  ringlets.  This  latter  opinion  is  consid- 
ered the  correct  one,  and  is  now  well  established  by  observa- 
tion and  experience  ;  so  that  the  questions,  whether  the  wax 
is  made  out  of  honey  or  out  of  the  pollen,  and  whether  the 
wax  is  disgorged  from  the  mouth  or  detached  from  between 
the  ringlets  of  the  hind  body  in  the  form  of  little  scales,  seem 
to  be  now  entirely  settled  among  the  most  learned  entomol- 
ogists and  apiarians. 

The  third  article  which  the  bees  collect  is  honey,  with 
which  they  fill  the  cells.  We  have  already  mentioned  that 
this  substance  is  obtained  from  the  bottom  of  the  calyx,  or 
from  the  nectaries  of  flowers.  Honey,  with  the  farina, 
forms  the  principal  food  of  bees — the  former  especially, 
when  the  weather  is  unfavorable  for  their  excursions  out 
of  the  hive,  and  during  winter,  when  they  perish  unless 
tliey  have  a  sufficient  quantity  of  this  food  in  the  hive. 

The  perfume,  which  is  moi-e  or  less  contained  in  both 
the  wax  and  honey,  is  derived  from  the  pollen  of  aromatic 


278  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

plants,  particularly  of  those  of  the  natural  order  Labiatoe ; 
as  thyme,  mint,  hyssop,  lavender,  sweet  basil,  catmint,  mar- 
joram, mountain-mint,  sage,  and  many  others.  Besides 
these  aromatic  plants  there  are  many  others  rich  in  farina ; 
as  the  willow,  apple,  and  pear-trees,  strawberries,  sun-flow- 
er, melons,  pumpkins,  cucumbers,  Indian  corn,  buckwheat, 
golden-rod,  and  many  others. 

Sth.  The  Cojibs. — The  cells  of  bees  are  hexagonous,  or 
six-sided  in  form,  as  may  be  readily  seen  in  every  comb; 
but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  observe  how  they  build  them.  While 
looking  at  the  bees  in  a  glass  hive,  it  seems  as  if  all  were 
taking  part  in  the  construction  of  the  comb  at  one  time, 
and  such  a  crowd  is  concentrated  in  one  spot  that  nothing 
can  be  seen.  Still  it  may  be  observed  that  they  put  on  the 
wax  with  their  jaws,  and  give  it  a  form,  commencing  at  the 
top  or  ceiling  of  the  hive,  suspending  their  combs  from 
above,  and  fastening  them  with  propolis. 

%th.  The  Wax  and  Honey  Harvest. — This  usually  takes 
place,  in  this  country  as  well  as  in  Europe,  during  the  months 
of  September  or  October.  The  manner  of  obtaining  this 
important  harvest  is  different  according  to  the  views  and  ex- 
perience of  different  apiarians,  but  it  is  usually  done  either 
by  suffocating  the  bees  and  taking  all  their  products,  or  by 
driving  them  out  into  another  hive,  and  then  depriving  them 
of  a  portion  of  their  food,  when  they  are  allowed  to  go  back 
into  the  hive.  Many  apiarians  use  the  former  method,  and 
kill  all  the  bees  in  the  old  hives,  so  that  they  may  use  the 
whole  amount  of  wax  and  honey  contained  in  them.  This 
merciless  and  cruel  treatment  of  creatures  who  do  us  no  pos- 
sible harm,  but  are  really  very  beneficial  to  us,  is  sometimes 
resorted  to  as  a  matter  of  necessity  ;  for  instance,  where  the 
hives  are  old,  or  infested  by  the  bee-moth,  or  when  the  api- 
arian uses  bell-shaped  straw-hives,  from  which  the  honey 
can  not  be  extracted  without  danger  of  being  stung,  and 
of  killing  the  largest  number  of  the  bees  by  the  operation. 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  279 

Although  this  method  of  operating  is  cruel,  and,  in  the 
opinion  of  many  apiarians,  unprofitable,  still  there  are  some 
arguments  in  its  favor.  A  well-experienced  apiarian,  at 
present  in  possession  of  twenty  hives  each  one  year  old,  as- 
sured us  that  he  realized  from  every  hive  an  average  of  six- 
ty pounds  of  wax  and  honey,  for  which  there  is  a  great  de- 
mand in  the  market,  the  wholesale  price  of  the  wax  being 
one  shilling,  and  of  the  honey  two  shillings  per  pound.  He 
sulFocates  the  bees  of  all  the  hives  that  are  one  year  old,  and 
takes  out  all  the  wax  and  honey,  but  does  not  disturb  the 
ncAv  hives  obtained  in  the  preceding  months  of  May  and 
June,  which  are  generally  two  swarms  or  hives  from  each  old 
one.  He  was  well  convinced  that  by  this  mode  of  obtain- 
ing the  wax  and  honey  he  experienced  much  less  trouble, 
and  more  profit,  than  those  who  employed  other  methods, 
and  besides  the  harvest  thus  obtained  he  was  able  to  sell 
about  twenty  young  hives  every  year. 

M.  La  Grenee,  a  French  apiarian,  and  a  strenuous  advo- 
cate for  the  suffocating  system,  says :  "  I  have  scrupulous- 
ly perused  all  the  writings  on  the  subject :  I  have  not  only 
studied  their  theory,  but  practiced  their  different  methods ; 
but  neither  books  nor  experiments  have  been  able  to  con- 
vince me  that  there  is  a  more  preferable  method  than  that 
which  I  use,  which  is  by  suffocation."  "  In  regard  to  the 
common  or  bell-shaped  hives,  every  body  knows  that  the 
principal  part  of  the  honey  being  placed  at  the  top,  the 
sticks,  which  are  absolutely  necessary  to  support  the  combs, 
are  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  the  extraction  of  the 
comb  in  a  neat  and  profitable  manner,  as  those  transverse 
sticks  can  not  be  taken  out  without  great  injury  to  the 
combs ;  and  what  person  does  not  perceive  that  this  opera- 
tion must  place  the  bees  in  a  terrible  state  of  agitation,  and 
be  the  death  of  thousands,  one  half  of  which  would  perish 
by  the  stings,  which  they  would  bestow  with  profusion  on 
their  tormentors  in  spite  of  fumigation,  and  the  remainder 


280  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

by  the  honey,  which  Avould  stifle  them.  I  have  always  ex- 
perienced very  great  trouble  in  extracting  the  honey-comb 
from  a  hive  the  bees  of  which  have  been  smothered,  for  tlie 
sole  reason  that  the  cross-sticks  could  not  be  drawn  out." 

"  In  regard  to  those  hives  composed  of  stories,  I  allow 
that  the  deprivation  of  the  honey  is  performed  much  more 
easily  than  in  others.  But  is  the  proprietor  always  careful 
of  the  important  circumstance  of  extracting  only  that  par- 
ticular quantity  from  the  hives  which  will  prevent  the  dan- 
ger of  famine?  For,  if  the  stories  be  small,  and  if,  for  fear 
of  injuring  the  bees,  he  extracts  but  a  small  portion  of  their 
produce,  wherein  then  does  his  advantage  consist?  On  the 
other  hand,  if  the  upper  stories  be  large,  they  contain  per- 
haps the  whole  of  the  honey,  and  in  taking  that  away  the 
bees  are  consequently  deprived  of  their  winter  food,  and  must 
inevitably  perish.  If,  to  avert  this  evil,  the  system  of  feed- 
ing be  resorted  to,  the  proprietor  will  be  under  the  necessity 
of  returning  to  the  bees  the  honey  which  he  took  from  them ; 
and  if  the  bees  escape  from  a  death  by  famine,  they  will  in- 
evitably perish  by  the  pillage,  which  is  frequently  and  almost 
universally  occasioned  by  these  artificial  supplies  of  food. 

It  is  evident  that  this  method  does  not  obviate  the  two 
principal  inconveniences,  which  are  so  conspicuous  ;  one  of 
which  is  the  entire  loss  of  the  hives  dui'ing  the  winter,  if  a 
great  quantity  of  provision  be  extracted  Irom  them  ;  and 
the  other  is  the  paucity  of  supply  to  the  public,  and  almost 
no  profit  whatever  to  the  proprietor,  if  only  a  little  be  taken. 

But  let  us  calculate  the  produce  of  this  method  with  that 
which  is  produced  by  the  system  of  suffocation.  We  will 
suppose  that  a  proprietor  has  ten  hives :  according  to  the 
removing  system,  they  will  furnish  each  twelve  pounds  of 
honey,  which  will  amount  in  all  to  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty pounds  ;  and  the  proprietor  will  possess  twenty  hives,  ten 
old,  and  ten  new  ones.  The  sixty  pounds  of  honey  may  be 
valued  at  £9,  and  the  twenty  hives  at  £20.     According  to 


ORDER   VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  281 

the  suffocating  system,  ten  hives  will  produce  thirty  pounds 
of  honey  each,  which  amount  to  three  hundred  pounds ;  and 
,  the  proprietor  will  have  twelve  young  hives — that  is,  ten 
composed  of  the  first  swarms,  and  two  of  the  second  and 
third ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  honey  will  amount  to  £22  10s., 
and  the  hives  to  £12.  In  order  to  facilitate  the  calcula- 
tion, I  suppose  that  each  hive  gives  but  one  swarm  in  the 
year.  Now,  although  these  two  species  of  profit,  as  well  in 
honey  as  in  hives,  appear  to  the  two  proprietoi-s  to  amount 
to  nearly  the  same  sum  in  money,  a  considerable  difference 
is  still  to  be  rcmai'ked ;  for,  in  the  first  case,  the  public 
profit  only  by  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  of  honey  for 
their  consumption,  and  the  proprietor  has  realized  only  £9 
in  money  ;  whereas,  in  the  second  case,  the  public  are  put  in 
possession  of  three  hundred  pounds  of  honey,  and  the  pro- 
prietor has  realized  £22  10s.  in  money. 

"  Moreover,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  in  the  following 
years  the  benefit  of  the  first  proprietor  will  far  exceed  that 
of  the  second,  by  the  greater  multiplication  of  his  hives: 
this  would  be  tantamount  to  a  voluntary  concealment  of 
the  frequent  and  almost  general  mortality  occasioned  by 
the  method  of  removing  the  bees  from  one  hive  to  another, 
and  which  will  indubitably  reduce  every  year  the  great 
number  of  hives  of  the  first  proprietor  to  a  number  below 
that  remaining  to  the  second,  by  which  we  may  be  assured 
that  the  annual  profits  of  the  former,  so  far  from  being 
more  considerable  than  those  of  the  latter,  will  always  be 
much  smaller.  This  method,  therefore,  of  removing  the 
bees  into  other  hives,  after  the  departure  of  the  first  swarm, 
is  neither  advantageous  to  the  proprietor  nor  to  the  pub- 
lic." 

Now,  on  the  other  hand,  although  the  ideas  of  M.  La 
Grenee  may  be  founded  in  truth,  and  are  the  result  of  his 
practical  observations,  still  others  have  had  different  experi- 
ences, and  offer  many  arguments  in  favor  of  the  mode  he  so 


282 


NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 


much  deprecates.  In  the  first  place,  they  say  it  is  inhu- 
man and  cruel  to  destroy  so  many  precious  lives,  particular- 
ly where  it  is  unnecessary  and  unprofitable ;  and,  secondly, 
that  if  one  is  well  acquainted  with  the  management  of  bees, 
it  will  very  seldom  happen  that  a  hive  perishes  by  starva- 
tion or  cold,  and  that  the  pi-ofits  of  the  proprietor  will 
rapidly  increase  by  the  method  of  deprivation,  and  by  keep- 
ing the  bees  alive.  Let  us  suppose  an  apiarian  who  well 
understands  the  management  of  bees  has,  to  commence 
with,  ten  old  hives;  he  may  have  by  this  method,  at  the 
end  of  five  years,  six  hundred  and  thirty-six  hives,  if  he 
chooses  to  keep  so  many,  and  may  realize  a  profit  of  nearly 
$1500,  as  illustrated  by  the  following  table: 


Years. 

Hives. 

Pounds  of 

Iloiicy. 

New 
Hives. 

Slim  of 
Hives. 

Profit  of 
Honey. 

If^irst 

10 

22 

48 

102 

212 

100 

220 

480 

1020 

2120 

12 

26 

54 

110 

424 

22 

48 

102 

212 

636 

$25 
50 
120 
230 
504 

Second  

Third 

Fourth 

Fifth 

The  idea  of  having  an  apiarium  of  six  hundred  and  thir- 
ty-six hives  may  seem  rather  eccentric,  and  many,  doubt- 
less, would  think  that  so  large  a  number  of  bees  could  hard- 
ly find  pasture  enough  for  their  support  in  any  one  section 
of  Europe ;  but  in  the  immense  territory  of  the  United 
States  there  are  many  thousand  acres  covered  with  woods, 
and  prairies  abounding  in  odoriferous  herbs  and  flowers, 
principally  in  the  West,  where  the  inhabitants  would  find 
this  branch  of  industry,  nowhere  thoroughly  attended  to,  a 
very  easy  and  lucrative  business.  At  all  events,  if  it  sliould 
be  found  impracticable  to  keep  so  many  hives,  still  a  very 
handsome  profit  could  be  realized  every  year  fi'om  the  sale 
of  all  the  superfiuous  hives. 

The  usual  method  of  removing  the  honey  and  wax, 
where  it  is  intended  to  keep  the  bees  alive,  is  the  follow- 
ing:   The  full  hive  is  turned  bottom-side  up,  and  a  new 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED  INSECTS.  283 

empty  one  of  the  same  diameter  is  placed  immediately  over 
it,  Avith  a  cloth  around  the  centre  where  the  two  join,  in  order 
to  prevent  the  bees  from  molesting  the  operator.  The  sides 
of  the  lower  hive  are  then  gently  beaten  Avith  sticks  in  or- 
der to  make  the  bees  ascend  to  the  upper  one,  which  event 
may  be  ascertained  by  a  loud  humming  noise,  and  soon  the 
whole  community  will  have  gone  into  the  new  hive,  and 
then  may  be  removed  to  the  apiary.  Besides  this  method 
there  are  two  othei's  used  to  drive  the  bees  from  one  hive 
into  another,  viz.,  by  filling  the  hive  with  smoke  or  water. 
In  the  latter  case  there  is  little  danger  of  killing  the  bees, 
for  they  are  v^ery  hard  to  die  by  drowning ;  and  often,  after 
being  in  the  water  a  whole  hour,  and  taken  out  apparently 
dead,  they  will  soon  revive  if  they  are  placed  upon  a  warm, 
dry  sheet.  By  this  latter  process  it  may  be  more  easily  as- 
certained what  is  the  number  of  the  bees,  and  the  condition 
of  the  queen,  etc.  If  bees  from  several  hives  have  been 
partially  drowned  and  afterward  resuscitated,  they  may  all 
be  put  into  one  hive,  and  they  will  live  peaceably  together, 
provided  only  that  there  is  one  queen  left  with  them — a  new 
hydropathic  remedy  that  might  be  employed  with  advant- 
age, perhaps,  in  cases  of  domestic  or  national  discords ;  so 
that,  instead  of  granting  divorces,  or  violently  separating 
States,  Ave  would  recommend  this  easy  method  of  making 
hostile  parties  live  peaceably  together. 

If  either  of  these  methods  of  depriving  the  bees  of  their 
Avax  and  honey  should  be  adopted,  it  may  be  done  in  the 
month  of  June,  soon  after  the  first  swarm  has  left  the  hive, 
or  it  may  be  done  in  the  month  of  October.-  The  depriva- 
tion in  the  beginning  of  summer  has  this  advantage,  that 
you  can  take  all  the  honey  and  Avax  from  them,  because  the 
bees  Avill  have  time  enough  during  the  summer  and  fall  to 
store  up  food  sufficient  for  their  winter  use,  provided  that 
the  country  affords  good  pasture  for  them.  It  has  other 
advantages  also,  and  important  ones  too.     In  the  first  place, 


^ 


284  NORTH    AMERICAN  INSECTS. 

both  the  wax  and  honey  are  better  taken  at  this  season ; 
and  in  the  second  place,  you  have  an  opportunity  of  in- 
specting the  combs,  to  see  whether  the  bee-moth  has  infest- 
ed them,  and  to  prevent  tliis  it  is  better  to  give  the  bees  a 
new  hive.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  deprivation  is  effected 
in  October  or  November,  two  tliirds  of  the  wax  and  honey 
must  be  left  to  the  bees  for  their  winter  provisions;  and 
hence  it  becomes  necessary  to  ascertain  the  weight  of  the 
full  hive  before  the  operation  takes  place,  in  order  to  calcu- 
late the  quantity  of  honey-comb  which  may  be  extracted. 

It  is  surprising  that,  with  the  large  profits  Avhich  api- 
culture realizes  from  a  very  little  capital  and  labor,  so  lit- 
tle attention  has  been  paid  to  it  of  late  years,  and  in  this 
country  particularly.  It  would  seem  that  every  country- 
man who  possesses  only  a  few  acres,  or  even  an  ordinary 
garden,  would  have  at  least  one  bee-hive  from  which  to 
raise  honey  for  his  own  domestic  purposes. 

In  some  countries,  it  is  true,  this  culture  has  the  prefer- 
ence before  all  other  agronomical  occupations.  It  is  said 
"that  when  the  Romans  became  masters  of  the  island  of 
Corsica,  they  imposed  on  the  inhabitants  a  tribute  of  wax 
which  amounted  to  200,000  pounds  per  annum.  Suppos- 
ing, therefore,  that  the  island  retained  the  same  quantity 
for  its  own  use,  we  have  400,000  pounds  of  wax  made  by 
these  w^onderful  little  insects  on  one  island.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  proportion  of  wax  to  honey  is  about  one  to 
fifteen  or  twenty;  multiplying,  therefore,  these  400,000 
pounds  by  fifteen  or  twenty,  we  have  six  or  eight  millions 
of  pounds  of  honey.  AVhat  a  source  of  riches  for  the  island 
of  Corsica,  if  the  culture  of  the  bee  was  carried  on  as  for- 
merly, especially  since  the  price  of  honey  and  wax  is  so 
much  higher  now  than  it  was  then." 

Apiculture  is  flourishing  in  Turkey,  Wallachia,  and  Mol- 
davia, from  which  places  an  immense  quantity  of  wax  is 
exported.     In  the  small  kingdom  of  Hanover,  in  Germany, 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  285 

the  annual  produce  of  wax  is  estimated  at  300,000  pounds, 
and  of  honey  4,500,000  pounds. 

Wax  is  also  an  important  article  of  commerce  in  Russia, 
of  which  a  large  quantity  goes  to  England  and  France,  for 
in  both  these  latter  countries  very  little  wax  is  produced. 
In  England  apiculture  is  very  much  neglected ;  and  Mr. 
Huish  says,  "  Excepting  the  Spanish,  I  know  of  no  nation 
which,  entertains  such  superstitious  prejudices  in  regard  to 
bees  as  the  English.  It  will  hardly  be  credited  that  in 
some  parts  of  England  the  bees  are  not  permitted  to  leave 
the  hive  on  a  Friday,  and  this  is  founded  on  religious  scru- 
ples." The  military  despotism  and  tyrannical  conscription 
which  prevails  in  France  is  undoubtedly  the  reason  why 
this  branch  of  industry  does  not  flourish  there. 

According  to  the  statistical  view  by  J.  D.  B.  De  Bow, 
in  the  year  1850,  the  United  States  of  America  produced 
14,853,790  pounds  of  honey  and  wax,  which  is  a  small 
quantity  in  comparison  with  Planover.  It  is,  therefore,  de- 
sirable that  some  measures  should  be  taken  for  the  encour- 
agement of  apiculture  in  this  country,  similar  to  those  that 
have  been  adopted  in  other  countries  ;  for,  although  it  is  at- 
tended with  some  difficulty,  we  have  a  number  of  different 
patent  hives  which  render  the  labor  exceedingly  easy  in 
comparison  with  that  of  other  branches  of  culture.  "In 
Germany,"  says  Mr.  Huish,  "  it  is  actually  made  a  part  of 
education,  and  certain  persons  are  appointed  and  paid  by 
the  government  to  instruct  the  peasants  in  the  cultivation 
of  bees.  It  is  not  only  theoretically,  but  practically  taught, 
and  for  this  purpose  alone  gardens  are  kept  containing  no- 
thing but  bee-hives  and  their  food,  for  the  instruction  of 
the  peasants.  Thus,  in  Vienna  a  bee-master  has  been  ap- 
pointed, who  has  a  garden  containing  a  hundred  hives,  which 
is  provided  with  every  implement  and  improvement  neces- 
sary for  the  elucidation  of  the  practical  management  of  bees. 
Particular  days  are  specified  in  which  public  lectures  are 


286  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

held  in  this  garden ;  and  it  is  generally  frequented  by  young 
men  intended  for  the  clerical  life,  who  are  obliged  to  attend 
that  they  may  be  able  to  impart  their  knowledge  to  their 
future  parishioners.  A  regular  journal  is  kept  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  establishment,  which  is  open  to  the  inspec- 
tion of  every  one. 

"There  is  a  'Patriotic  Apiarian  Society  of  Bavaria,' 
which  is  a  most  laudable  institution,  and  its  laws  ought  to 
be  translated  into  the  language  of  eveiy  country  where  bees 
are  known.  It  is  not  permitted  for  a  peasant  to  have  his 
own  apiary,  but  a  particularly  favorable  spot  is  pointed  out 
by  the  Society,  in  which  the  different  proprietors  deposit 
their  hives.  This  place  is  under  the  management  of  a  skill- 
ful apiarian,  appointed  by  the  Society ;  and  it  is  ordained 
that  no  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  hives  shall  be  kept 
in  one  place,  and  each  establishment  must  be  four  miles  dis- 
tant. A  trifling  tax  is  levied  upon  each  hive  not  belonging 
to  the  Society ;  and  thus  the  peasant  looks  forward,  at  the 
end  of  the  year,  to  a  certain  profit,  with  a  very  slight  out- 
lay, and  without  any  demand  upon  his  time  or  labor. 
Should  a  poor  peasant  wish  to  become  the  proprietor  of  one 
or  more  hives,  he  applies  to  the  Society,  who  immediately 
accede  to  his  wishes,  and  an  annual  deduction  is  made  from 
his  profits  until  the  Society  is  repaid  the  value  of  the  hives 
it  has  bestowed.'* 

In  many  parts  of  Germany  the  peasants  receive  from  the 
Government  a  florin  for  every  hive  which  they  rear  during 
the  season,  and,  to  prevent  their  killing  the  bees,  the  florin 
is  not  paid  until  the  spring,  at  which  time  it  would  be  of  no 
advantage  to  the  proprietor  to  destroy  his  bees.  So  in  this 
country  the  foundation  of  an  independent  Apiarian  Society 
in  each  State,  or,  at  least,  its  particular  encouragement  by 
the  different  Agricultural  Societies,  would  greatly  tend  to 
the  promotion  of  this  interesting  and  useful  branch  of  in- 
dustry. 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  287 

lOt/i.  The  Uses  of  Wax  and  Honey. — It  need  hardly 
be  mentioned  that  both  these  are  extensive  articles  of  com- 
merce, and  as  such  are  the  means  by  which  large  sums  of 
money  are  made  every  year.  We  are  informed  on  good 
authority  that  Great  Britain,  where  this  branch  of  rural 
economy  is  quite  neglected,  annually  imports  more  than 
four  hundred  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  beeswax.  This 
article  is  extensively  used  in  the  manufacture  of  candles  for 
lighting  churches  and  palaces,  as  well  as  more  humble  dwell- 
ings ;  it  is  also  used  for  polishing  floors  and  tables.  In 
anatomical  museums  it  is  used  for  the  representation  of 
every  part  of  the  body,  and  of  almost  every  sui'gical  disease 
or  deformity ;  and  to  so  great  an  extent  has  this  useful  art 
been  carried  in  Finance  and  Germany,  that  medical  students 
are  spared  the  necessity  of  much  disagreeable  labor  among 
the  dead  bodies,  and  many  disgusting  and  dangerous  inves- 
tigations. The  figures  of  distinguished  persons  are  also 
modeled  in  wax,  and  painted  to  represent  the  life ;  so  also 
are  faces  for  doll-babies,  and  all  kinds  of  fruit  and  flowers, 
natural  as  if  growing  on  their  native  stock,  made  out  of  this 
substance  which  the  little  busy  bee  has  manufactured  for 
man. 

Honey  is  a  not  less  important  article  of  commerce.  Be- 
fore the  process  of  manufacturing  sugar  was  known,  it  was 
generally  used  as  a  sweetening  substance,  and  it  is  still  ex- 
tensively used  for  this  purpose,  as  well  as  an  ingredient  of 
many  medicinal  compounds.  The  ancients  pounded  bees  to 
a  jelly,  and  used  it  as  a  beverage  in  maladies  of  the  stomach 
and  bowels,  particulai-ly  in  dysentery ;  they  believed  it  re- 
moved freckles  from  the  face,  and,  incorporated  with  nut- 
oil,  restored  lost  hair.  Honey  was  at  one  time  thought  to 
be  a  universal  panacea:  it  dissipated  melancholy,  anger, 
corrupted  blood ;  it  cured  inveterate  coughs,  pain  in  the 
side,  and  gout ;  it  assuaged  the  troubles  of  the  mind,  re- 
stored the  health  impaired  by  age,  etc.,  etc. 


288  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Many  people  in  Germany  and  Hungary  carry  on  an  ex- 
tensive trade  in  pastry,  of  which  the  principal  ingredient  is 
honey.  The  city  of  Nuremberg,  in  Bavaria,  celebrated  for- 
merly as  the  principal  manufactory  of  geographical  maps  and 
terresti'ial  globes,  is  now  distinguished  for  the  manufacture 
of  all  sorts  of  gingerbread  and  cakes  (called  Nurenberger  Leh- 
kuchen),  made  of  honey  and  flour,  which  are  in  great  de- 
mand through  all  the  cities  of  Germany,  and  are  even  ex- 
ported to  Russia.  In  the  city  of  Presburg,  in  Hungary, 
among  thirty  or  forty  thousand  inhabitants,  we  found  at 
least  a  dozen  pastry-cooks,  each  of  whom,  with  their  several 
journeymen,  did  nothing  else  but  make  small  and  large 
cakes  in  the  form  of  a  horseshoe,  which  were  filled  with 
pounded  poppy-seed  [Papaver  rhcas)  mixed  with  honey. 
These  cakes,  of  different  sizes,  weighing  from  half  a  pound 
to  six  pounds,  are  exported  in  quantities,  and  are  known 
in  Europe  as  the  celebrated  and  delicious  poppy-cakes  {Pres- 
hurger  Mohnkuchen),  which  are  commonly  used  as  birthday, 
Christmas,  and  other  holiday  presents. 

In  Hungary,  Poland,  Russia,  Prussia,  and  throughout 
Germany,  a  delicious,  refreshing,  and  wholesome  beverage 
is  prepared  from  honey  and  water,  Avhich  is  called  mead. 
There  are  three  kinds — the  simple,  compound,  and  the  vi- 
nous mead.  The  simple  mead  is  made  of  honey  and  water, 
without  undergoing  fermentation ;  the  compound  is  mixed 
with  fruit,  essences,  etc.,  to  give  it  a  mixed  flavor ;  and  the 
vinous  is  the  simple  mead  fermented. 

Simple  mead  is  made  by  boiling  three  quarts  of  water 
in  which  one  part  of  honey  has  been  dissolved :  the  quan- 
tity of  honey  may  be  augmented  or  diminished  according 
to  the  taste  of  the  persons  who  use  it.  It  must  be  boiled 
over  a  moderate  fire  to  two-thirds  of  the  quantity,  when 
the  liquor  is  skimmed  and  poured  into  a  barrel,  taking  care 
that  the  barrel  is  full :  it  is  allowed  to  subside  for  three  or 
four  days,  when  it  may  be  drawn  off  for  use.     This  sort  of 


ORDER    VI. VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  289 

mead  may  be  made  more  or  less  generous,  according  to  the 
quantity  of  honey  given  to  it,  and  forms  an  excellent  sto- 
machic. "  In  coughs  it  excites  more  expectoration,  and  is 
gently  laxative."  As  an  economical  apiarian  will  not  al- 
low any  part  of  his  produce  to  be  wasted,  the  linens  which 
have  been  used  for  filtering  the  honey  should  be  rinsed  in 
the  water  destined  for  the  mead.  If  the  linen  has  been  well 
saturated  with  the  honey,  the  strength  of  the  mead  will  be 
considerably  increased. 

To  make  the  compound  mead  the  following  dii'ections 
may  be  observed :  During  the  time  that  the  quantity  of 
honey  and  water,  as  above,  is  boiling,  some  raisins,  cut  in 
two,  must  be  boiled,  allowing  half  a  pound  of  raisins  to  six 
pounds  of  honey,  and  four  pints  of  water  are  necessary  to 
boil  them  properly.  The  liquor  being  diminished  one  half, 
it  is  strained  through  a  linen,  slightly  squeezing  the  raisins, 
and  is  then  mixed  with  the  decoction  of  honey  and  water, 
and  the  whole  is  boiled  together  for  a  short  time ;  a  toasted 
crust  of  bread,  steeped  in  beer,  is  then  put  into  it,  and,  hav- 
ing taken  off  the  scum  which  has  formed  afi'esh,  the  whole 
is  taken  off  the  fire  and  allowed  to  subside.  It  is  gently 
poured  into  a  barrel,  into  which  has  been  put  an  ounce  of 
salt  of  tartar  dissolved  in  a  glass  of  spirit  of  wine,  particu- 
lar care  being  taken,  as  before,  that  the  barrel  is  quite  full. 
It  must  then  be  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the  sun  with 
the  bung  out,  or  in  a  chamber  heated  by  a  stove,  keeping 
the  barrel  constantly  full,  until  no  more  froth  is  emitted, 
when  the  bung  may  be  fastened  and  the  barrel  put  into 
the  cellar,  where  it  must  remain  a  few  months  before  it  is 
fit  for  use.  To  render  this  mead  more  agreeable,  five  or 
six  drops  of  the  essence  of  cinnamon  may  be  mixed  with 
the  spirit  of  wine  in  which  the  salt  of  tartar  has  been  dis- 
solved. Some  pieces  of  lemon-peel,  or  the  sirup  of  goose- 
berries, cherries,  strawberries,  or  aromatic  flowers,  may  be 
mixed  with  it,  according  to  the  palate  of  the  fabricator. 

N 


290  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

This  compound  mead  ferments  a  considerable  time,  and  is 
preserved  like  the  other.  Care  must  be  taken  to  rinse  all 
the  new  barrels  with  brandy  before  the  mead  is  put  in  them. 

"  To  make  the  vinous  mead,  take  one  pound  of  honey  to 
three  pints  of  water.  This  is  the  beverage  of  the  majority 
of  the  Northern  people ;  they  call  it  miod.  The  Russians, 
for  example,  compose  their  mead  with  honey,  cherries, 
strawberries,  gooseberries,  and  mulberries ;  they  commence 
the  fabrication  by  soaking  these  fruits  for  some  days  in  clear 
water,  to  which  they  then  add  some  virgin  honey  and  a 
piece  of  bread  soaked  in  beer.  The  barrels  are  placed  in  a 
room  in  which  a  heat  of  18  to  25  degrees  Reaumure  is  main- 
tained day  and  night.  The  fermentation  commences  at  the 
end  of  six  or  eight  days,  lasts  for  about  six  weeks,  and 
ceases  spontaneously.  The  common  people  of  the  same 
country  make  mead  with  honey  which  is  not  separated 
from  the  wax,  and  with  combs  in  which  the  brood  still  ex- 
ists ;  they  beat  these  combs  in  warm  water,  leave  the  liquor 
to  subside,  strain  it  through  a  bag,  boil  and  drink  it." 

Mr.  Huish  made  an  excellent  mead  in  the  following 
manner :  "  To  thirty  pounds  of  honey  add  forty-five  bottles 
of  water ;  the  mixture  is  boiled  in  a  great  copper  vessel, 
and  when  the  liquor  is  reduced  one  half  it  is  sufficiently 
boiled.  Put  two  thirds  of  this  in  a  new  barrel  well  rinsed 
with  brandy,  and  the  other  third  into  bottles  closed  with 
fine  linen  or  coarse  muslin.  If  in  this  state  the  liquor  is 
tasted,  it  is  insipid  ;  and,  in  order  to  render  it  vinous,  it  must 
undergo  fermentation,  which  imparts  to  it  all  the  fumes  of 
wine,  and  from  which  brandy,  etc.,  may  be  made.  In 
order  to  destroy  more  effectually  the  honey  taste  of  this 
beverage,  chalk,  charcoal,  and  the  white  of  eggs  must  be 
added  in  the  following  manner :  the  honey,  water,  and  the 
chalk  are  put  into  a  copper  vessel,  the  size  of  which  should 
be  one  third  larger  than  the  volume  of  the  mixture,  and  the 
whole  must  be  boiled  for  two  minutes.     The  charcoal  is 


ORDER    VI.^VEIN-AVINGED   INSECTS.  291 

then  put  into  the  liquor  and  well  mixed  with  a  spoon,  and 
the  boiling  is  continued  for  two  minutes  more,  after  which 
the  white  of  eggs  is  added,  and  the  whole  is  then  mixed 
with  the  same  care  as  the  charcoal,  and  it  is  again  boiled 
for  about  two  minutes ;  the  vessel  is  then  taken  from  the 
fire,  the  liquor  is  left  to  cool,  and  is  then  strained  through 
a  sieve  or  flannel. 

"To  excite  fermentation  the  liquor  must  be  exposed  to 
heat.  Two  methods  arc  practiced  for  this  purpose :  the 
first  is  to  place  the  liquor  in  a  stove,  or  the  coi-ner  of  a 
chimney,  in  which  a  constant  fire  is  kept ;  some  bottles  are 
filled  with  the  same  liquor.  In  about  seven  or  eight  days 
the  liquor  emits  a  thick  and  dirty  froth,  which  leaves  a 
vacuum  in  the  barrel  which  must  be  filled  up  from  the 
bottles,  which  arc  also  in  a  state  of  fermentation,  which 
lasts  about  two  months,  and  then  ceases  of  itself.  The 
other  method  is  to  expose  the  liquor  to  the  sun ;  but  in  this 
case  it  must  be  done  in  the  month  of  June,  and  left  exposed 
until  the  fermentation  ceases,  which  takes  place  in  three  or 
four  months.  On  placing  the  barrel  in  the  warmest  situa- 
tion, it  must  be  raised  a  little  from  the  ground,  and  atten- 
tion must  be  paid  to  the  bees  and  other  insects  attracted  by 
the  odor.  During  the  heat  of  the  day  the  liquor  swells, 
the  froth  rises  to  the  bung-hole,  and  runs  down  on  each 
side  of  the  barrel.  Instead,  therefore,  of  placing  the  barrel 
exactly  horizontal,  it  is  better  to  give  it  a  slight  inclination, 
taking  the  bung'-hole  as  the  parallel.  As  soon  as  the  sun 
sets,  or  is  obscured,  the  volume  of  the  liquor  is  diminished, 
and  the  barrel  has  no  longer  the  appearance  of  being  full. 
In  the  first  case  the  bees  will  lick  up,  without  danger  to 
themselves,  the  liquid  which  has  flowed  from  the  barrel ; 
but  in  the  second  the  bung-hole  must  be  closed  with  a  plate 
of  lead  pierced  in  holes ;  without  this  precaution  the  bees 
would  drown  themselves.  The  plate  of  lead  must  be  taken 
off  when  the  liquor  begins  to  froth,  and  when  the  barrel  is 


292  NORTH   AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

no  longer  full  enough  to  throw  off  the  froth  it  must  be  filled 
up  from  the  bottles. 

"  The  fermentation  having  ceased,  the  barrel  is  put  into 
the  cellar,  taking  due  precaution  that  it  is  full.  After  two 
or  three  years  it  may  be  put  into  bottles,  which  must  be 
well  corked,  and  allowed  to  stand  one  month  to  see  if  they 
do  not  burst.  They  may  then  be  ranged  in  bins  like  other 
wines.  The  taste  of  this  wine  resembles  that  of  Malaga ; 
it  is  a  great  cordial,  dissipates  flatulence,  and  promotes 
perspiration.  It  must,  however,  be  drank  with  modera- 
tion, as.  it  is  of  a  very  intoxicating  quality,  and  the  intoxi- 
cation caused  by  it  lasts  a  very  long  time.  The  natives  of 
Poland  and  Lithuania,  whose  principal  beverage  is  mead, 
communicate  a  very  agreeable  odor  to  it  by  putting  into 
the  ban-els  a  certain  quantity  of  dried  elder  flowers,  and  so 
medicinal  qualities  may  be  given  to  mead  by  mixing  with 
it  the  juice  of  different  plants." 

The  wines  of  Malaga,  Muscat,  and  some  other  sweet 
wines,  are  imitated  in  Paris  by  means  of  mead ;  but  it  is  not 
difficult  to  discover  this  imposition,  by  taking  a  small  de- 
canter of  glass  and  pouring  into  it  the  adulterated  vi^ine. 
If  you  stop  the  entrance  of  this  bottle  with  your  thumb, 
turn  it  upside  down,  dip  it  under  water,  and  draw  away 
your  thumb,  if  the  wine  is  spurious,  the  water  will  become 
cloudy,  and  the  honey  Avill  be  precipitated  into  it,  while 
what  remains  in  the  bottle  will  be  insipid  water  of  an  un- 
pleasant taste. 

Very  good  vinegar  may  also  be  made  from  honey,  by  dis- 
solving half  a  pound  in  a  pint  of  water,  and  exposing  it  to 
the  heat  of  the  sun,  covering  the  bung-hole  with  a  piece  of 
coarse  linen,  in  order  to  prevent  insects  from  entering.  In 
about  six  weeks  this  mixture  will  be  excellent  vinegar. 

We  have  been  thus  minute  in  the  descriptions  of  the  com- 
mon uses  of  honey,  because  every  apiarian  in  the  country 
should  know  how  to  use  his  products  to  the  best  advantage, 


ORDER    VI.— VEIN-WINGED    INSECTS.  293 

and  because  the  mead  manufactured  for  domestic  use  is 
both  healthful  and  refreshing,  and  all  who  keep  bees  should 
know  how  to  make  it.  "The  laborer  is  Avorthy  of  his 
hire,"  and  nothing  tends  more  to  the  encouragement  of  do- 
mestic industry  than  the  certain  prospect  of  abundant  re- 
ward. He  who  made  all  nature  beauty  to  man's  eye  and 
music  to  his  ear,  also  placed  him  in  the  midst  of  creatures 
whose  lives  are  devoted  solely  to  minister  to  his  taste  and 
gratify  his  palate,  and  thus  for  all  his  care  and  protection  to 
return  an  exquisitely  grateful  and  sufficient  reward. 


ORDER  VII. 

TWO-WINGED  INSECTS,  OR  FLIES— (Z>/Pr^iM). 

The  insects  of  this  order,  as  their  Greek  name  imports, 
are  creatures  with  two  wings,  which  we  commonly  call 
flies.  They  are  generally  small,  and  we  find  among  them 
some  so  diminutive  that  they  can  be  seen  only  with  a  mag- 
nifying glass.  Their  bodies  are  divided  into  a  head,  tho- 
rax, and  hind  body  or  abdomen,  which  are  connected  to- 
gether by  a  thin  filament.  The  head  consists  of  two  large 
eyes,  with  an  addition  in  some  species  of  three  small  ones, 
and  two  short  antennae,  very  near  together;  below  these 
are  found,  in  some  species,  a  soft  proboscis,  as  in  the  house- 
fly ;  in  others  a  hard,  pointed  sucking-tube,  as  in  the  mos- 
quito ;  and  in  others  simply  a  mouth.  On  the  under  side 
of  the  thorax  are  fastened  three  pair  of  feet,  and  on  the 
opposite  side  one  pair  of  thin,  transparent  wings,  by  the 
vibration  of  which  they  produce  a  humming  sound  when 
flying.     The  hind  body  consists  of  ten  ringlets. 

These  insects  are  for  the  most  part  oviparous,  only  a  few 
species  being  viviparous.  Their  maggots  are  white,  of  a 
spindle  form,  and  without  feet,  but  some  of  them  have  mi- 
nute fleshy  warts  which  answer  the  purpose  of  feet,  and 
upon  which  they  are  able  to  move ;  they  have  two  respira- 
tory organs  on  the  neck,  and  two  on  the  hind  body.  Many 
of  these  larvae  live  in  the  water,  but  the  greatest  part  of 
them  live  in  dirt,  dung-hills,  cheese,  spoiled  meat,  fruits, 
etc.  After  a  time  the  skin  of  these  maggots  becomes  hard 
and  brown,  and  thus  they  are  transformed  into  a  pupa, 
which  in  many  species  has  the  form  of  a  barrel,  from  which 
afterward  the  perfect  fly  issues. 


ORDER    VII. TWO-WINGED  INSECTS,  OR  FLIES.      295 

Flies  are  of  very  little  use  to  man,  and  are  generally 
deemed  injurious  insects,  as  many  of  them  are  able  indirect- 
ly to  kill  even  large  quadrupeds ;  most  of  them  vex  us  by 
their  impudence,  and  torment  man  and  beast  by  their  stings 
and  blood-sucking ;  while,  in  the  maggot  state,  they  even 
dwell  in  the  skin  on  frontal  cavities,  or  even  in  the  entrails 
of  some  animals.     So  many  dogs  and  other  animals  perish. 

The  number  of  genera  of  this  order  is  immense,  and  far 
surpasses  that  of  the  lepidoptera.  The  most  conspicuous 
of  those  found  in  the  United  States  are  the  following : 

The  Gad-fiy. 

These  resemble  bumble-bees,  and  are  sometimes  known 
under  the  name  of  Bot-bees.  These  are  two-winged  in- 
sects, the  females  of  which  deposit  their  eggs  upon  the  skin 
of  animals,  and  their  larv£B  enter  the  body,  and  dwell  either 
under  the  skin,  or  in  the  nose,  or  in  the  entrails.  Of  these 
there  are  several  species. 

The  Horse  Gad-fly,  or  Large  Bot-fly  {CEstrus  equi), 
has  spotted  wings,  and  a  body  covered  with  yellow  hair. 
This  is  one  of  the  principal  flies  whose  young  sometimes 
cause  the  death  of  a  horse.  The  horse,  which,  among  the 
animals  useful  to  man,  occupies  the  first  rank,  seems  not  to 
have  been  created  for  man  alone ;  but  even  an  insignificant 
fly  usurps  dominion  over  him,  appropriates  him  to  his  own 
use  as  an  article  of  food ;  so  that  while  the  horse  is  simply 
useful  to  man,  he  is  really  necessary  to  the  existence  of 
these  insects,  who  can  only  live  and  develop  in  his  stomach 
and  intestines.  The  stomach  of  a  horse  is  sonffetimes  paved 
with  these  larva3,  or  bots,  as  a  street  is  paved  with  stones, 
and  this,  too,  without  the  animal  seeming  to  suflfer  by  it. 
Formerly  it  was  believed  that  this  gad-fly  deposits  her  eggs 
under  the  tail  of  the  horse,  and  that  the  larvae  issuing  from 
them  creep  through  all  the  intestines  until  they  reach  the 
stomach ;  but  investigations  have  shown  this  nat  to  be  the 


296  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

case,  but,  on  the  contrary,  as  may  be  seen  almost  every  day 
in  spring  and  the  beginning  of  summer,  the  female  of  this 
fly  deposits  her  eggs,  often  five  hundred  in  number,  upon 
the  fore-legs  of  the  horse.  In  about  four  days  these  eggs  are 
hatched ;  and  as  by  their  motions  they  produce  a  tickling 
or  itching,  the  horse  tries  to  remove  them  with  his  tongue, 
and  in  doing  so  swallows  most  of  them,  by  which  means 
they  are  transported  to  the  stomach,  where  each  one  fastens 
itself,  by  means  of  two  horny  hooks,  to  the  internal  coat, 
there  sucking  its  fleshy  fibres  and  feeding  on  the  gastric 
juice.  When  full  grown,  and  about  three  quarters  of  an 
inch  long,  they  leave  this  viscus,  are  carried  along  through 
the  intestines,  and,  with  the  balls  of  fecal  matter,  fall  to 
the  ground,  enter  it,  and  transform  themselves  into  pup^, 
from  which,  after  three  or  four  weeks,  they  come  out  as 
perfect  flies. 

As  each  of  these  maggots,  for  its  habitation,  bores  a  cell 
as  large  as  a  grain  of  Indian  corn,  and  by  this  operation 
causes  more  or  less  of  irritation,  often  inflaiximation  of  the 
stomach  ;  and  as  their  number  often  amounts  to  many  hun- 
dreds, we  may  imagine  that  the  consequences  would  be  very 
serious,  as  indeed  they  are,  often  causing  fatal  epidemic  dis- 
eases of  horses.  In  such  cases  the  animal  loses  his  appe- 
tite and  flesh,  is  afflicted  with  cough,  bites  its  sides,  dis- 
charges much  phlegm  from  the  nose,  breathes  with  great  dif- 
ficulty, and  will  die  unless  remedies  are  successfully  used  to 
expel  these  larvae,  such  as  mild  laxative  oils,  etc. 

But  as  the  gad-fly  that  infests  the  horse  is  found  only  in 
fields,  bots  al"e  found  only  in  such  horses  as  feed  in  pas- 
tures or  work  in  the  fields,  and  hence  much  may  be  done 
in  the  way  of  preventing  their  ravages  by  currying  and 
cleaning  the  horse  twice  a  day. 

Dr.  Harris,  in  his  work  on  Injurious  Insects,  mentions 
also  the  Small  Red-tailed  Bot-fly  (CEstrus  hccmori^hoidalis), 
which  deposits  her  eggs  on  the  lips,  and  the  Brown  Farrier 


ORDER  VII. TWO-WINGED    INSECTS,  OR    FLIES.    297 

liot-jfly  {CEstrus  veteritms),  which  deposits  her  eggs  under  the 
throat  of  the  hoi'se.  The  maggots  then  enter  the  mouth 
of  this  animal,  are  carried  into  the  stomach,  and  go  through 
the  intestines  like  the  former  ones,  producing  the  same  ef- 
fects. 

The  Ox  Bot-fly  {(Estrus  lovis)  is  nearly  one  inch  long, 
has  a  yellow  breast,  with  a  black  band  across  it,  while  the 
hind  body  is  white  and  yellowish  red,  covered  with  hair, 
and  resembling  that  of  the  bumble-bee.  The  female  of 
this  insect,  with  its  long,  horny  ovipositor,  pierces  the  skin 
of  the  ox  or  cow,  generally  on  the  back  of  the  body,  and 
deposits  therein  her  egg,  which  is  hatched  by  the  caloric 
of  the  animal.  The  maggot,  as  soon  as  hatched,  finds  its 
nourishment  in  the  cavity  where  it  was  born,  and,  as  it  de- 
velops, causes  the  skin  to  swell,  forming  a  protuberance 
like  that  caused  by  gall-wasps  on  plants,  and  finally  pro- 
ducing a  running  sore.  In  the  month  of  May  there  may 
frequently  be  seen  on  the  backs  of  young  cattle  from  four 
to  twenty  such  boils,  each  an  inch  thick,  Avith  an  opening 
from  which  flows  a  purulent  discharge.  These  maggots 
live  about  four  weeks  under  the  skin,  when  they  come  out 
from  their  disgusting  and  filthy  abode,  fall  to  the  ground, 
change  into  pupae,  and  a  week  after  are  transformed  into 
the  perfect  fly.  The  female  of  this  insect  is  so  prolific  that 
a  single  one  may  infest  a  whole  drove  of  cattle  with  its 
eggs. 

The  Sheep  Bot-fly  {(Estrus  ovis)  has  transparent  wings 
spotted  at  the  lower  margin,  a  brown  spotted  hind  body, 
with  yellow  and  brown  lateral  lines,  sparingly  covered  with 
hairs.  This  insect  does  not  show  much  inclination  to  fly 
or  to  walk,  and  is  very  slow  in  its  motions.  The  female 
lays  its  eggs  on  the  nostrils  of  sheep,  whence  the  hatched 
maggots  creep  into  the  frontal  cavity,  and  there  develop 
until  fully  grown,  when  they  come  out,  fall  to  the  ground, 
and  change  into  pupa?,  in  which  state  they  remain  about 

N2 


298  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

six  weeks  befoi'e  they  are  transformed  into  the  perfect 
fly. 

In  former  times,  and  even  now,  many  country  people 
think  that  these  maggots  are  the  cause  of  giddiness  in 
sheep,  and  even  epileptic  fits,  on  which  account  the  an- 
cients recommended  the  maggots  of  the  sheep  bot-fly  as  a 
remedy  for  epilepsy;  and  we  read  in  Trallianus  that  the 
oracle  of  Delphi  advised  a  certain  Democrates  of  Athens, 
who  was  afiiicted  with  epilepsy,  to  use  these  worms  tied  up 
in  a  linen  bag  and  worn  around  his  neck. 

This  fact  certainly  argues  that  the  Homeopathic  Law 
taught  by  the  celebrated  Hahnemann,  Similia  similibiis  cu- 
ranter,  was  applied  to  the  treatment  of  disease  in  very  an- 
cient times,  and  those  who  will  not  acknowledge  this  law 
of  therapeia  must  have  very  little  acquaintance  with  the 
ancient  history  of  medicine  and  its  collateral  sciences. 
Cicero,  in  his  epistle  to  Atticus,  says  that  the  Greek  phy- 
sician Craterus  cured  the  elephantiasis  of  the  East,  caused 
by  immoderate  use  of  reptile  food,  by  administering  small 
quantities  of  the  flesh  of  vipers ;  and  Antonius  Musa,  the 
physician  of  the  Emperor  Octavius  Augustus,  cured  invet- 
erate ulcers  in  the  same  manner. 

Some  years  ago,  when  we  were  traveling  through  Hayti, 
there  lived  a  Frenchman  named  Morin  in  the  mountains 
of  Fond  des  Negres,  near  Port-au-Prince,  who  was  so  fond 
of  liquor  that  he  filled  a  bottle  with  whisky  out  of  a  hogs- 
head in  which  we  preserved  snakes,  lizards,  toads,  and 
frogs,  and  of  course  drank  it  all.  Three  weeks  afterward 
his  face  and  whole  body  were  swollen,  and  covered  with  a 
thick,  leathery  skin,  constituting  the  disease  called  ele- 
phantiasis. When  that  unfortunate  man  applied  to  us  for 
a  remedy  for  that  dreadful  disease,  we,  remembering  the 
prescription  of  Craterus  and  Antonius  Musa,  advised  him 
to  use  the  flesh  of  snakes,  which  benefited  him  very  much, 
and  relieved  his  suflTerings ;  but  whether  or  no  our  homeo- 


ORDER   VII. TWO-WINGED    INSECTS,  OR    FLIES.     299 

pathic  remedy  cured  him  we  never  heard,  as  we  left  the 
island  soon  after  prescribing  it,  and  have  never  heard  from 
him  since. 

Formerly,  when  the  negroes  of  St.  Domingo  were  slaves, 
elephantiasis  was  more  frequent  among  them  than  it  is  now, 
probably  because  they  fed  almost  exclusively  on  the  salted 
flesh  of  green  turtles.  So  at  one  time,  many  years  ago, 
about  40,000  people  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cairo  were 
afflicted  with  that  disease,  on  account  of  the  immoderate 
use  of  the  flesh  of  different  snakes,  which  they  ate  in  order 
to  please  their  prophet  Mohammed,  and  to  appear  as  saints 
among  their  fellow-men.  But  we  do  not  intend  to  write  a 
treatise  on  diseases,  nor  to  advocate  any  particular  dogma 
in  medicine,  and  so  must  confine  ourselves  as  closely  as  is 
possible  to  our  main  subject. 


Among  the  flies  with  a  fleshy  proboscis  there  is  none  so 
blood-thirsty  as  the  Horse-fly  {Tabanus),  and  none  have 
so  terrible  a  sting.  This  instrument  consists  of  six  sharp 
needles,  concealed  under  the  proboscis,  and  so  very  sharp 
and  strong  is  it  that  it  pierces  the  thickest  skin  of  horses, 
cows,  and  oxen,  inflicting  painful  and  bloody  wounds. 
These  flies  are  a  real  pest  to  horses  and  cattle,  following 
them  wherever  they  go,  with  loud  humming,  and,  when 
once  reaching  them,  fastening  on  to  their  skin  and  piercing 
it  until  often  the  blood  oozes  out  in  drops.  Horses  are 
sometimes  so  covered  with  them  that  their  whole  body  is 
bloody,  and  the  poor,  tormented  animals  run  away  in  their 
madness,  breaking  whatever  vehicle  is  attached  to  them ; 
so,  also,  whole  herds  have  sometimes  become  furious  from 
being  stung  by  these  insects,  and  have  precipitated  them- 
selves into  the  first  stream  of  water  that  they  reach. 

This  genus  horse-fly  {Tabanus)  must  not  be  confounded 
with  the  Bot-fly  (CEstrus),  which  also  infests  the  horse, 


300  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

because  the  latter  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  body  of  the  horse, 
while  the  larvae  or  maggots  of  the  former,  as  well  as  their 
pupge,  are  plentifully  found  in  the  ground,  in  meadows  and 
near  ditches. 

Dr.  Harris  mentions  three  species  of  horse-fly,  viz. :  The 
Black  Horse-fly  {Tdbanus  atraius),  the  body  of  which  is 
black,  and  its  back  covered  with  a  whitish  bloom,  like  a 
plum.  This  fly  is  almost  an  inch  long,  has  very  large 
wings,  as  well  as  very  large,  bluish-black,  shining  eyes, 
and  is  found  commonly  throughout  the  United  States. 

The  Belted  Horse-fly  {Tdbanus  cinctus)  is  smaller,  of 
an  orange  color,  and  is  not  as  common  in  the  States. 

The  Lined  Horse-fly  {Tabanus  lineatus)  is  still  much 
smaller,  and  has  a  whitish  line  along  the  top  of  the  hind 
body,  and  is  very  common. 

There  are  many  other  species  of  this  blood-thirsty  genus, 
but  most  of  them  are  smaller,  and  comparatively  uninter- 
esting ;  and  as  this  order  of  insects  has  had  the  least  atten- 
tion from  naturalists,  there  are  very  few  facts  known  as  yet 
regarding  their  life  and  history.  We  trust,  however,  that 
the  zealous  entomologist,  Baron  Osten  Sachen,  of  the  Rus- 
sian Legation  at  Washington,  will  soon  favor  us  with  a  vol- 
ume on  North  American  Diptera,  which  he  has  for  several 
years  made  a  principal  study,  and  of  which  we  are  sadly  in 
want. 


The  House-fly  {Musca  domestica)  is  well  known  to  every 
one  as  an  insect  about  three  lines  long,  which  has  a  dark- 
brown  thorax  with  four  black  lines,  a  dark-brown  hind 
body  spotted  with  black.  The  eyes  are  reddish-brown. 
Between  the  claws  there  is  a  small  round  ball,  from  which, 
when  pressed,  there  issues  a  glutinous  fluid,  which  enables 
the  fly  to  run  upon  smooth  surfaces,  such  as  mirrors,  win- 
dows, ceilings,  etc.,  which  hence  become  covered  with  dirty 


ORDER    VII. TWO-WINGED    INSECTS,    OR    FLIES.    301 

spots.  The  wings  are  covered  with  millions  of  small  hairs, 
which  give  them  a  glistening  appearance,  as  the  minute 
hairs  can  not  be  seen  with  the  unassisted  eye. 

The  house-fly  is  an  inhabitant  of  every  country  on  the 
globe ;  it  is  found  in  the  coldest  countries  of  Greenland,  as 
well  as  the  warmest  portions  of  the  torrid  zone,  and  by 
mankind  every  where  is  esteemed  a  great  nuisance.  In  its 
persevering  impudence  and  provoking  titillation  it  is  no  re- 
specter of  persons,  attacking  the  king  on  his  throne  with  as 
much  freedom  as  the  beggar  in  the  ditch,  and  leaving  ev- 
ery where  the  dirty  remembrances  of  its  offensive  assaults. 
Still  the  poor  fly  can  not  be  blamed,  as  it  is  only  seeking 
its  food,  which  consists  in  the  juices  of  animals  and  the  ex- 
halations from  their  skin,  as  well  as  the  moisture  of  plants 
and  vegetables,  and  the  decayed  particles  of  food  and  offal. 

These  flies  deposit  their  eggs  in  all  kinds  of  manure,  and 
hence  are  found  in  greatest  abundance  in  the  neighborhood 
of  stables  and  farm-houses.  Their  maggots  are  also  found 
on  the  corpses  of  animals,  and  wherever  there  is  any  filth, 
even  in  spittoons,  if  they  are  not  constantly  cleaned.  They 
transform  themselves  into  reddish-brown  pupae,  from  which 
the  perfect  flies  are  constantly  issuing  throughout  the  sum- 
mer. 

House-flies  are  often  subject  to  a  peculiar  disease,  the 
symptoms  of  which  are,  a  considerable  swelling  of  the  hind 
body,  which  is  filled  with  a  greasy  white  substance,  pene- 
trating the  skin,  and  accumulating  on  the  surface  of  the 
body.  In  this  condition  we  often  find  them  dead  upon  win- 
dows or  flowers,  looking  as  if  glued  to  them  with  their  pro- 
boscis. The  cause  of  this  fatal  disease  is,  probably,  their 
intemperance  in  eating,  or  because  they  have  partaken  of 
some  poisonous  substance. 

The  house-fly  is  not  only  an  inhabitant  of  every  country, 
but  it  is  found  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  although  it  is 
rarely  seen  in  very  cold  weather  except  in  warm  rooms,  or 


302  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

where  the  sun  shines  brightly.  The  female  is  larger  than 
the  male  ;  and  when  about  ready  to  lay  her  eggs,  the  hind 
body  becomes  so  transparent  that  the  eggs  are  seen  through 
it  on  both  sides.  The  development  of  the  egg  may  best  be 
observed  by  putting  moistened  wheat  or  barley  into  a  glass 
vessel,  and  leaving  it  until  it  is  spoiled  and  has  become 
black,  when  three  or  four  eggs  will  be  seen  on  the  grains 
and  may  be  closely  watched.  These  eggs  are  cylindrical  in 
form,  pointed  at  one  end,  and  its  surface  shines  like  mother- 
of-pearl.  After  about  twenty-four  hours  the  maggot  leaves 
the  egg,  and  grows  for  two  weeks,  until  it  is  about  thi'ee 
lines  long,  when  it  is  metamorphosed  into  a  cylindrical  red- 
brown  pupa,  from  which  the  perfect  fly,  with  its  hairy  gray 
feet,  issues  in  about  two  weeks.  These  hairy  feet  are  of 
great  use  to  this  little  insect,  and  assist  in  keeping  it  nice 
and  clean,  because  it  uses  them  as  brushes,  with  the  hind 
ones  to  brush  the  dust  from  its  wings,  and  with  the  fore 
feet  wiping  its  face  and  eyes. 

As  these  flies  torment  man,  they  are  in  the  same  ratio 
themselves  tormented  by  very  small  mites,  which  in  large 
numbers  move  between  their  hairs,  and  which  they  can  not 
get  rid  of  by  any  means.  "We  resort  to  many  measures  to 
abate  the  nuisance  of  flies,  and  there  are  many,  mixtures 
recommended  as  sure  death  to  these  our  little  tormentors ; 
but  it  is  doubtful,  with  all  of  them,  whether  they  do  not  at- 
tract the  flies  in  greater  proportion  than  they  destroy  them. 
Dr.  Harris  says :  "  If  a  plateful  of  strong  green  tea,  well 
sweetened,  be  placed  in  an  outer  apartment,  accessible  to 
flies,  they  will  taste  of  It,  and  be  killed  thereby  as  soon  as 
by  the  most  approved  fly-poison." 

The  Meat-fly  (Musca  vomitoria)  is  about  half  an  inch 
long,  and  two  lines  thick,  hairy,  black,  and  has  a  shining 
blue  hind  body.  This  insect  is  remarkable  for  its  extraor- 
dinary sense  of  smell,  and  hence  a  piece  of  meat  can  hardly 
be  placed  out  of  its  reach ;  for,  unless  veiy  securely  closed 


ORDER    VII. TWO-WINGED    INSECTS,   OR    FLIES.   303 

against  the  attacks  of  all  insects,  these  flies  will  scent  it  a 
great  distance,  and,  arriving  at  it  in  crowds,  they  deposit 
upon  it  their  eggs,  which  are  commonly  called  fly-blows. 

The  maggots  of  this  fly  are  well  known  in  meat-shops, 
pantries,  and  kitchens,  and  are  every  where  considered  as 
disgusting  in  the  extreme.  They  are  spindle-formed,  white, 
soft,  and  armed  with  two  horny  hooks,  which  enable  them 
to  move,  and  tear  small  pieces  from  the  meat  for  their  food. 
It  is  surprising  how  fast  these  maggots  will  develop. 
Signor  Eedi,  a  distinguished  Italian  naturalist,  placed  a 
fish  at  the  disposal  of  these  flies,  upon  which  they  soon  de- 
posited their  eggs.  The  second  day  after  these  maggots 
were  hatched  they  doubled  in  size,  when  thirty  of  them 
weighed  one  grain ;  but  from  that  moment  they  grew  so 
fast,  that  on  the  next,  or  third  day,  one  maggot  alone 
weighed  seven  grains,  thus  becoming  two  hundred  times 
heavier  in  twenty-four  hours.  These  maggots  arrive  at 
their  full  growth  in  about  four  days,  when  they  creep  to 
the  ground,  change  into  an  egg-shaped  pupa,  and  come  out 
as  perfect  flies  a  few  days  after. 

A  great  deal  of  instinct  is  exhibited  by  these  flies  in  re- 
gard to  the  locality  where  they  deposit  their  eggs,  which 
must  be  a  place  that  will  furnish  good  food  for  their  off- 
spring :  for  instance,  if  you  set  before  them  a  thin  piece  of 
meat,  however  good,  they  will  move  over  it  and  feed  upon 
it,  but  will  not  deposit  an  egg  upon  it,  because  they  know 
it  will  soon  dry  up ;  but  if  you  put  a  piece  of  meat  upon  a 
damp  or  moist  ground,  where  it  will  decay  rapidly,  it  will 
soon  be  covered  with  eggs,  the  maggots  of  which  will 
scratch  it  with  their  hooks,  and  soil  it  with  their  fluid 
evacuations,  causing  the  whole  piece  to  putrefy  very  rapidly 
and  become  fetid. 

The  Meat-fly  is  a  great  lover  of  human  cadavers,  and 
in  ancient  times  the  people  were  much  excited  when  it  was 
ascertained  that  a  human  corpse  was  actually  devoured  by 


304  NORTH   AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

worms ;  they  looked  upon  it  as  a  special  instance  of  divine 
punishment ;  but  as  long  as  bodies  were  not  bux'ied  deep  in 
the  ground,  or  were  deposited  in  the  vaults  of  churches, 
such  things  happened  very  frequently.  These  flies  follow 
the  coffins  and  hover  about  them,  until,  by  the  putrefaction 
and  expansion  of  the  bodies,  the  seams  of  the  coffin  are 
pressed  open,  when  they  enter  the  cracks,  deposit  their 
eggs,  and  soon  after  the  maggots  are  hatched  and  ready  for 
their  depredations.  Those,  therefore,  who  wish  to  avoid 
being  early  devoured  by  worms  must  be  interred,  according 
to  Masonic  rule,  in  a  grave  six  feet  deep  under  ground,  due 
east  and  west. 

Another  insect  of  this  order,  and  perhaps  the  most  dis- 
tinguished in  the  archives  of  our  Government,  certainly  the 
most  celebrated  in  Congressional  and  editorial  harangues,  is 

The  Hessian-fly  {Cecidomyia  destimctor). — This  insect, 
although  incorrectly,  yet  very  generally,  was  believed  to 
have  been  brought  to  America  in  1780,  in  vessels  laden 
with  grain,  by  the  Hessian  army  that  was  rented  to  Great 
Britain  during  the  Kevolutionary  War.  But,  as  we  have 
said,  this  was  incorrect,  as  this  insect  was  seen  and  known 
in  Staten  Island,  and  at  Flatbush,  Long  Island,  as  early  as 
1776.  As  early  as  1788  the  ravages  of  this  insect  had  be- 
come so  great  throughout  the  fields  of  wheat,  rye,  and  bar- 
ley, in  many  of  the  States,  as  to  cause  very  considerable 
alarm,  and  to  call  for  decisive  action  on  the  part  of  the  dif- 
ferent Legislatures,  as  well  as  of  Congress.  Consultations 
were  held  as  to  the  best  means  of  averting  an  evil  which 
threatened  to  be  more  terrible  than  pestilence.  Messengers 
were  dispatched  to  the  different  custom-houses  in  the  Unit- 
ed States,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  every  ship-load  that 
arrived,  to  see  that  no  more  of  these  insects  were  brought 
ashore ;  and  notices  to  the  same  effect  were  sent  to  all  our 
embassadors  in  Europe.  The  debates  in  Congress,  with  the 
information  that  was  collected  in  regard  to  this  little  insect, 


ORDER    VII. TWO-WINGED    INSECTS,   OR    FLIES.    305 

occupied  more  than  two  hundred  sheets  of  paper.  At  last 
Sir  Joseph  Banks,  a  distinguished  naturalist  in  England,  was 
applied  to  for  information;  but  so  little  was  known  of  ento- 
mology here  that,  although  whole  packages  of  descriptions 
were  forwarded  to  him,  he  could  not  explain  whether  the 
injurious  insect  was  a  moth,  a  bug,  or  a  fly. 

Soon  afterward,  however,  the  natural  history  of  the  Hes- 
sian-fly, and  the  measures  necessary  to  prevent  its  ravages, 
became  the  subject  of  investigation  of  several  scientific  gen- 
tlemen, among  whom  were  Dr.  Isaac  Chapman,  in  the 
"Memoirs  of  the  Philadelphia  Society  for  the  promotion 
of  Agriculture ;"  Jonathan  N.  Havens,  Esq.,  in  the  "Trans- 
actions of  the  Society  for  promoting  Agriculture  in  New 
York;"  Mr.  Herrick,  in  the  "American  Journal  of  Sci- 
ence;" Mr.  Edward  Tilghman,  of  Maryland,  in  the  "Culti- 
vator;" and,  above  all,  our  distinguished  naturalist,  Thomas 
Say,  in  the  "  Journal  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  History 
of  Philadelphia."  From  the  researches  of  these  distin- 
guished men  we  derive  the  following  information : 

The  Plessian-fly  is  very  small,  and  its  body  and  wings  are 
entirely  black.  The  female  deposits  her  eggs  on  the  stalk 
or  leaves  of  wheat,  barley,  rye,  and  Timothy  grass,  as  soon 
as  the  plants  are  up  in  the  spring  or  fall,  the  maggots  from 
which  enter  the  stalk  and  feed  upon  its  substance  and  sap, 
thereby  weakening  the  stem  and  causing  it  to  break  and 
fall  before  the  grain  is  ripe.  The  eggs  are  very  diminutive, 
of  a  reddish  color,  and  are  hatched  by  the  caloric  of  the  at- 
mosphere, accordmg  to  the  temperature,  in  one  or  two 
weeks.  The  maggots  are  also  of  a  reddish  color,  and  as 
soon  as  hatched  fasten  themselves  on  one  of  the  joints  and 
suck  the  sap  of  the  stem,  until  after  five  or  six  weeks  they 
attain  their  full  size,  and  then  change  into  light-brown 
pupge  from  which  the  perfect  insect  soon  emerges.  This 
process  takes  place  at  least  twice,  and  sometimes  thrice  a 
year,  upon  the  wheat  and  other  grain  that  grows  in  spring, 


306  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

and  upon  that  which  grows  in  autumn,  so  that  when  there 
are  two  crops  of  grain  a  year  there  will  be  at  least  two  gen- 
erations of  these  flies. 

Miss  Margaretta  H.  Morris,  of  Germantown,  Pennsyl- 
vania, whose  labors  in  the  science  of  entomology  are  well 
known,  and  whose  articles,  published  in  the  "  Transactions 
of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,"  have  gained  her 
great  reputation,  has  discovered  another  species  of  Hessian- 
fly  which  lives  altogether  inside  of  the  stalk,  and  which  she 
calls  Cecidomyia  culmkola. 

The  means  used  to  destroy  these  noxious  insects  have 
been  very  various,  and  not  always  as  successful  as  antici- 
pated. Miss  Morris  recommends  obtaining  seed-wheat 
from  places  where  the  fly  has  never  been.  Mr.  Garret 
Bergen,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  soaked  his  seed-wheat  in 
strong  pickle,  and  the  crop  was  free  from  the  fly.  Mr. 
Herrick  advises  to  burn  the  stubble  of  wheat,  rye,  and  bar- 
ley immediately  after  the  harvest,  and  then  plow  and  har- 
row the  land,  which  process,  he  says,  will  destroy  the  largest 
part  of  the  pupae  that  are  left. 

Another  very  common  insect  of  this  order  is  the  Cheese- 
fly  {PiopMla  casei),  which  is  not  larger  than  a  small  ant, 
of  a  brown  color,  its  neck  shining  like  a  mirror,  and  its 
wings  larger  than  the  body. 

The  maggots  of  this  fly  are  better  known  than  the  per- 
fect insect,  and  are  almost  universally  found  in  cheese,  al- 
though many  persons  are  so  little  acquainted  with  the  na- 
ture of  these  disgusting  animals  that  they  eagerly  devour 
them — in  fact,  consider  them  as  the  most  delicious  portion 
of  the  cheese.  It  was  formerly  believed  that  these  maggots 
originated  by  the  putrefaction  of  the  cheese ;  but  the  con- 
trary is  rather  the  case,  for  they  crumble  the  cheese,  admit- 
ting air  into  it,  and  soil  it  with  their  fluid  excrement,  which 
causes  putrefaction,  particularly  when  many  of  them  die, 
as  is  often  the  case  when  the  perfect  insect  has  been  stung 


ORDER    VII. TWO-WINGED  INSECTS,  OR  FLIES.     307 

by  small  ichneumons.  These  maggots  have  a  skin  as  strong 
almost  as  parchment,  two  horny  hooks  near  the  head,  as  in 
the  meat-fly,  with  which  they  work  the  cheese  and  eifect 
their  jumping  motions.  In  the  performance  of  this  latter 
feat  these  disgusting  little  creatures  far  excel  man  or  any 
animal  whatever.  One  of  them  not  longer  than  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  will  jump  up  into  the  air  six  inches — at  least 
twenty-four  times  its  length.  How  strange  that  we  can 
look  upon  the  wonderful  feats  like  this,  performed  by  in- 
significant little  insects,  without  being  amazed  at  the  im- 
mense effort  and  agility  displayed !  It  is  only  because  we 
do  not  think  of  them  sufficiently  deep,  and  compare  their 
motions  with  our  own.  The  step  of  a  fly  is  so  small  in 
comparison  with  that  of  a  man,  we  do  not  think  to  com- 
pare the  number  or  the  speed  of  their  steps  to  those  of  man, 
and  yet  the  latter  is  the  proper  light  by  which  to  observe 
them. 

M.  Delisle  once  watched  a  fly,  only  as  large  as  a  grain  of 
sand,  which  ran  three  inches  in  half  a  second,  and  in  that 
space  of  time  made  the  enormous  number  of  five  hundred 
and  forty  steps.  If  a  man  were  to  be  able  to  walk  as  fast, 
in  proportion  to  his  size,  supposing  his  step  to  measure  two 
feet,  he  would,  in  the  course  of  a  minute,  have  run  upAvard 
of  twenty  miles — a  task  far  surpassing  our  express  railroad 
engines,  or  even  the  famous  "  Seven  League  Boots"  record- 
ed in  the  nursery  fable.  So,  in  jumping  or  leaping,  these 
insects  display  astonishing  power.  Some  spiders  leap  a 
couple  of  feet  upon  their  prey.  The  insect  called  the 
"frog-hopper"  can  leap  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
times  its  own  length.  A  flea  can  leap  two  hundred  times 
its  own  length  ;  so  also  can  the  locust.  If  a  man  were  six 
feet  long,  and  could  leap  as  high  and  as  far  as  one  of  these 
insects,  he  might  stand  near  the  custom-house  in  New 
York,  leap  up  into  the  air  over  the  top  of  Trinity  Church 
spire,  and  alight  in  Greenwich  Street ;    which  would  be 


308  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

something  more  wonderful  than  has 'ever  yet  entered  into 
the  minds  of  the  writers  of  fairy  tales  to  conceive  of 

The  maggots  of  the  cheese-fly,  when  fully  grown,  become 
very  hard,  leave  the  cheese,  and  fall  to  the  ground,  which 
they  enter,  and  there  remain  for  ten  or  twelve  days,  after 
which  they  emerge  as  perfect  insects. 

The  Flea  (Pulex  irritans). 

This  insect,  with  its  reddish-brown  uniform,  thick  body, 
small  head  and  antennas,  is  probably  as  well  known  to  per- 
sons of  all  classes  of  society  and  of  all  countries  as  any 
other  insect  in  this  order.  It  has  no  wings,  and  hence  can 
not  fly,  but  it  has  been  placed  among  the  flies  of  the  order 
diptera,  because  its  characteristics  are  more  like  those  than 
any  other,  and  it  undergoes  the  same  metamorphoses  that 
all  dipterous  insects  do,  viz.,  depositing  eggs,  from  which 
proceed  maggots,  which  metamorphose  into  pupa?,  and  are 
afterward  transformed  into  perfect  insects. 

The  flea  makes  its  abode  principally  in  the  fur  of  do- 
mestic animals,  particularly  the  dog  and  cat,  but  it  also 
dwells  on  foxes,  mice,  squirrels,  bats,  and  pigeons,  as  well  as 
upon  the  skin  of  man.  As  a  general  rule,  its  presence  may 
be  avoided  by  paying  proper  attention  to  cleanliness,  by 
keeping  the  rooms  of  our  houses  dry  and  clean,  and  if  pet 
dogs  and  cats  are  in  the  house,  of  keeping  them  also  clean 
and  free  from  these  troublesome  blood-suckers.  If  beds  or 
carpets  have  become  infested  with  them,  dogs  and  cats  will 
prove  the  best  remedy,  because  these  insects  are  attracted 
by  them,  and  much  prefer  to  dwell  in  their  soft  fur.  Fleas 
are  more  numerous  in  the  months  of  August  and  Septem- 
ber, although  no  season  is  entirely  exempt  from  them. 

It  was  formerly,  and  is  now,  believed  by  many  persons 
that  all  sorts  of  vermin  are  bred  from  filth,  and  that  these 
insects  originate  from  saw-dust  under  floors  which  have  been 
often  wet,  on  which  account  they  are  so  often  found  in 


ORDER    VII. TWO-WINGED   INSECTS,    OR    FLIES.    309 

nurseries.  This,  however,  is  a  great  mistake ;  for  although 
they  abound  in  filthy  localities,  it  is  only  because  the  fe- 
male has  selected  as  a  place  of  deposit  for  her  eggs  those 
places  where  they  will  be  safe  and  furnished  with  a  plenti- 
ful supply  of  food  as  soon  as  hatched ;  hence  the  damp 
cracks  in  floors  are  often  chosen.  The  process  of  their  de- 
velopment may  be  observed  with  ease  and  accuracy  by  put- 
ting some  fleas  with  the  black  dust  of  decayed  trees  into  a 
glass  bottle,  the  opening  of  which  is  then  covered  with  a 
magnifying  glass.  The  female  will  soon  be  seen  to  deposit 
about  twenty  white,  oval  eggs,  from  which,  after  six  days 
in  summer,  and  twelve  days  in  winter,  small,  white,  snake- 
like maggots  will  proceed,  which  are  scarcely  one  line  long, 
but  whose  bodies  are  composed  of  thirteen  hairy  ringlets, 
and  their  heads  provided  with  two  short  antennas,  a  mouth, 
and  two  eyes.  At  the  extremity  of  their  hind  bodies  are 
seen  two  yellowish,  fine  bristles,  which  assist  them  in  their 
serpentine  motions.  Most  of  the  time  they  creep  about,  but 
if  disturbed  immediately  conceal  themselves.  They  must 
be  fed  with  flies,  of  which  the  head  is  taken  off,  or  with 
dried,  pulverized  blood.  Under  the  solar  microscope  they 
appear  ten  feet  long,  and  of  course  all  their  motions  can  be 
distinctly  seen.  In  about  two  weeks  they  acquire  their  full 
growth,  when  they  conceal  themselves  in  the  gi'ound  and 
metamorphose  into  a  pupa,  from  which,  about  a  week  aft- 
erward, the  perfect  flea  issues.  The  female  flea  drops  her 
eggs  any  where  she  happens  to  be,  but  in  preference  upon 
heaps  of  manure,  in  the  cracks  of  dirty  floors,  etc.,  on  which 
account  it  is  well  to  wash  the  floors  with  boiling  water 
wherever  they  have  appeared. 

The  head  of  the  perfect  flea  is  disproportionably  small, 
and  the  eyes  still  much  smaller,  round,  and  shining.  The 
antennae  are  club-like  in  form,  and  the  alimentary  organ 
consists  of  a  long,  hollow  sucking-sting,  which  probably 
represents  the  jaws.     The  whole  body  consists  of  twelve 


310  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

ringlets  and  six  feet,  the  extremities  of  which  are  provided 
with  bristles  and  two  claws,  by  which  the  flea  produces  a 
tickling  sensation,  when  walking,  upon  the  skin.  Its  hind 
pair  of  feet  are  much  the  longest,  and  endowed  with  ex- 
traordinary strength,  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  animal, 
which  enables  it  to  make  as  long  journeys  and  in  as  quick 
time  as  if  it  had  wings  and  could  fly.  We  have  already 
alluded  to  its  wonderful  feat  of  leaping  a  distance  two  hun- 
dred times  longer  than  its  body — a  feat  only  realized  by  ap- 
plying its  magnitude  to  man  or  other  larger  animals.  If  a 
man  five  feet  high  Avas  able  to  do  the  same  thing,  he  could 
jump  a  thousand  feet  without  trouble,  and  it  would  be  a 
mere  trifle  for  him  to  jump  up  over  the  cupola  of  St.  Paul's 
Church  in  London,  over  St.  Petei''s  in  Rome,  over  the  Miin- 
ster  in  Strasburg,  over  the  steeple  of  St.  Stephen's  in  Vien- 
na, or  over  any  of  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt,  which,  averaging 
only  a  height  of  five  hundred  feet,  Avould  consequently  re- 
quire only  half  the  bodily  force. 

The  flea,  however,  is  short-lived,  and  generally  dies  two 
or  three  days  after  having  deposited  her  eggs.  These  in- 
sects are  natives  of  Eux'ope  and  Asia,  where,  in  many  lo- 
calities, they  are  very  troublesome,  and  from  whence  they 
have  emigrated  to  North  America.  Our  unpleasant  and 
changeable  climate,  however,  does  not  agree  with  them  as 
well  as  their  own  native  climate,  and  hence  their  number 
is  quite  small  in  comparison.  A  certain  poet  gives  us  the 
song  of  a  3^oung  flea  who  had  emigrated  to  this  country 
from  Prussia,  and  thus  expresses  his  dissatisfaction  to  his 
sweet-heart  in  his  abominable  Berlin  dialect : 

"  Ke^inst  du  nunmehr  das  Land,  wo  Dorngestripp  und  Distehi  bliili'ii, 
Ira  frost'gen  Wald  nur  eckelhafte  Tannenzapfea  gliih'n, 
Der  Schierling  tief,  und  hoch  der  Sumach  steht, 
Ein  rauher  Wind  vom  scliwarzen  Himmel  weht ; 
Kennst  du  es  wohl?     O  lass  uns  eilig  zieh'n, 
Und  schnell  zuriick  in  unsre  Heimath  flieh'n!" 


ORDER    VII. TWO-WINGED    INSECTS,    OR    FLIES.    311 

A  prose  translation  of  which  is:  ''Knowst  thou  now  this 
country,  where  only  briers  and  thistles  bloom ;  where  ugly 
fur-nuts  only  glow  in  the  icy  forest;  where  down  in  the 
vale  the  fetid  hemlock  grows,  and  on  the  hills  the  poison- 
ous sumach ;  where  heavy  winds  blow  from  black  clouds 
over  desolate  lands?  Dost  thou  not  know  enough  of  this 
country  t  Oh,  then,  let  us  fly  in  haste  and  return  to  our 
own  fatherland !" 

Another  species  of  flea,  and  a  much  more  troublesome 
and  dangerous  insect,  is 

The  Sand-flea,  or  Chique  (Pulex  penetrans),  whose  at- 
tacks have  often  been  attended  with  horrible  consequences, 
such  as  the  loss  of  feet,  legs,  and  arms,  and  even  of  human 
lives.  This  insect  is  very  small,  and  can  not  hop  like  the 
former  species,  but  runs  about  in  the  sand  and  dust  in  the 
mountainous  parts  of  the  West  Indies,  as  well  as  in  South 
America.  Near  the  sea-shore  and  during  the  rainy  season 
it  is  seldom  seen ;  but  as  soon  as  the  dry  season  begins,  in 
the  hilly  localities,  where  coffee  and  cotton  trees  thrive,  it 
is  found  in  great  abundance. 

During  our  travels  in  San  Domingo  we  were  very  anx- 
ious to  make  minute  observations  on  those  little  creatures, 
which  are  very  numerous  upon  all  the  high  grounds  during 
the  dry  season  from  August  to  March ;  but  it  must  be  con- 
fessed we  were  glad  to  leave  the  country  as  well  and  no 
wiser  than  before.  We  were  confined  to  the  bed  for  three 
months  from  the  wounds  caused  by  these  insects,  and  were 
physically  and  mentally  unable  to  make  any  observations, 
being  under  surgical  care  the  whole  time,  and  barely  escap- 
ing amputation  of  the  feet.  Every  part  of  the  body  almost 
was  wounded  by  the  stings  of  these  horrible  and  stealthy 
enemies ;  and  as  soon  as  we  recovered  sufficiently  to  be  able 
to  move,  we  precipitately  left  their  abode,  and  went  from 
the  coflfee  and  cotton  groves  down  to  the  sugar-cane  fields 
near  the  sea-shore,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Port-au-Prince. 


312  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

Almost  all  we  know,  therefore,  of  the  natural  history  of  this 
formidable  insect  has  been  derived  from  the  observations  of 
others,  our  own  unfortunate  experience  having  taught  us 
enough  of  the  sufferings  they  are  able  to  cause,  and  con- 
vincing us  that  if  this  sand-flea  could  leap  like  the  common 
flea,  the  whole  of  tropical  America  would  become  uninhab- 
itable. 

The  Sand-flea,  or  Chique,  as  we  have  already  said,  is  veiy 
small;  but"  the  hind  body  of  the  female,  just  before  she  de- 
posits her  eggs,  swells  to  an  enormous  size  for  the  animal 
(we  saw  their  bodies  as  large  as  a  pea),  and  from  it  the  head, 
neck,  and  feet  seem  to  stick  out  as  if  protruded  from  a  bag. 
The  female  almost  imperceptibly,  certainly  without  causing 
any  noticeable  sensation,  works  herself  into  the  skin  of  the 
feet  between  the  toe-nails  and  the  flesh,  as  well  as  into  the 
hands.  By-and-by  this  produces  a  little  itching,  which  we 
supposed  at  first  to  have  been  caused  by  a  mosquito  bite. 
If  this  happens  to  a  person  well  acquainted  with  the  insect 
and  the  country  of  which  it  is  a  native,  it  is  sufficient  to 
attract  his  attention  to  it,  and  he  will  at  once  have  it  ex- 
tracted with  a  fine  needle,  which  operation  is  performed  by 
skillful  negro  women ;  but  if  he  is  unacquainted,  and  this 
operation  be  neglected,  the  hind  body  of  the  insect  pene- 
trates deeper  and  deeper  into  the  flesh,  and  produces  an  ex- 
cavation in  it  so  deep  that  the  abdomen,  which  resembles  a 
bag,  is  entirely  concealed,  and  only  the  small  head  is  visi- 
ble. When  this  bag,  which  contains  an  enormous  number  of 
eggs,  attains  the  size  of  a  large  pea  it  bursts,  and  the  almost 
invisibly  small  maggots  creep  out  and  scatter  all  over  the 
neighboring  parts,  burrowing  into  the  flesh,  and  every  where 
forming  new  bags  and  excavations,  by  means  of  which  not 
only  painful,  itching  sores,  but  even  malignant  ulcers  are 
generated. 

The  negro  women  of  San  Domingo  are  so  accustomed  to 
them,  and  so  thoroughly  ti-ained,  that  they  very  skillfully 


ORDER   VII. TWO-WINGED    INSECTS,  OR    FLIES.    313 

loosen  such  a  bag  from  the  flesh  without  tearing  it;  for, 
should  it  be  torn,  the  young  ones  will  imperceptibly  dis- 
perse all  over  the  foot  or  hand  of  the  patient  wherever  they 
may  have  located,  and  every  one  of  them  will  establish  a 
new  dwelling  for  itself. 

As  the  negroes  of  that  country  all  go  barefooted,  they 
suffer  immensely  from  this  plague,  and  ai*e  obliged  to  ex- 
amine their  feet  and  hands  every  day  in  order  to  extract 
this  insect,  if  one  has  entered  them ;  and,  notwithstanding 
all  this  precaution,  many  of  them  become  lame,  and  even 
lose  their  limbs  by  amputation.  This  was  the  case  with  a 
fool-hardy  Capuchin  monk,  who,  when  he  left  San  Do- 
mingo, took  with  him  a  live  colony  of  these  insects,  which 
he  allowed  to  dwell  in  his  foot,  in  order  to  bring  them  in 
good  condition  to  Paris,  and  present  them  for  examination 
to  the  naturalists  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences.  The  ex- 
periment proved  unfortunate,  both  for  him  and  for  science ; 
for  his  foot,  covered  with  ulcers,  and  loaded  with  these  in- 
sects, had  to  be  amputated  to  save  his  life  during  the  voy- 
age, and  was  given  up  to  the  waves  of  the  ocean. 

This  insect  is  also  found  in  Brazil,  where  it  is  called 
Tunga ;  also  Bicho.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Antilles,  to 
prevent  its  entering  their  flesh,  use  the  caustic  oil  of  the 
Cachew-nut  {Anacardium  occiclentale) ;  they  also  use  tar  to 
besmear  the  feet  with ;  but  there  is  no  remedy,  after  the 
sand-flea  has  entered  the  flesh,  but  to  extract  it  without 
rupturing  its  bag,  or  abdomen. 

The  Mosquito  (Culex). 

This  insect,  called  by  the  French  Maringouiii,  or  Cousin, 
and  by  the  Germans  Steclischnaclce,  or  Golse,  is  a  genus  of 
the  order  Diptera,  so  numerous  that  its  species  cover  the 
globe  from  one  pole  to  the  other,  and  from  east  to  west 
through  both  hemispheres ;  and  as  most  of  them  exhibit 
the  same  mischievous  propensities  and  general  characteris- 

O 


314  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

tics,  differing  here  and  there  mainly  in  size,  it  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  divide  them  into  many  different  and  distinct  species. 
Nor  do  we  propose  to  attempt  it  here ;  but  so  common  an 
insect  we  could  not  omit,  even  in  our  brief  history  of  North 
American  diptera.  "We  trust,  however,  to  see  a  work  on 
this  subject  ei'e  long  from  Baron  Osten  Sacken,  in  which 
all  the  flies  of  our  country  will  be  properly  and  scientific- 
ally classed. 

There  are  few  insects  of  which  man  and  beast  complain 
so  much  as  of  the  mosquitoes.  It  is  true  that  there  are 
insects,  such  as  wasps,  bees,  and  the  fleas  we  have  just 
mentioned,  that  inflict  painful  and  even  dangerous  wounds, 
but  no  other  insect  pursues  us  with  such  obstinacy,  day 
and  night,  and  is  such  a  universal  torment  to  man,  as  the 
mosquito.  In  some  localities,  particularly  near  rivers,  lakes, 
and  ponds,  the  inhabitants  can  scarcely  invent  means  to 
protect  them  from  the  attacks  of  these  insects ;  nor  are  our 
cities  exempt  from  them,  but  almost  every  where  they  are 
found  biting  and  sucking  our  blood  during  the  day,  and  at 
night  whistling  and  singing  in  our  ears,  preventing  all  sleep 
to  those  that  are  not  covered  with  gauze. 

When  traveling  some  years  ago  in  the  country  of  the 
Czernomorzi,  or  Cossacks  of  the  Black  Sea,  we  observed 
before  each  house  of  the  different  slanitzas,  or  villages, 
of  the  Cossacks,  large  heaps  of  half-dried  manure  ignited 
and  smoking,  which  our  driver  informed  us  was  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  off  the  mosquitoes.  Toward  evening, 
on  a  very  hot  June  day,  we  ascended  the  right  bank  of  the 
muddy  and  slowly-running  River  Kuban,  on  the  left  bank 
of  which  the  independent  Circassia  stretched  out  before  us, 
when  suddenly  swarms  of  small  mosquitoes  covered  us,  our 
servant,  and  driver,  and  horses,  lighting  upon  us  in  lumps 
an  inch  thick,  and,  in  spite  of  all  the  covering  we  could 
hastily  throw  over  us,  tormenting  us  excessively  with  tlieir 
bites. 


ORDER    VII. TWO-WINGED  INSECTS,  OR    FLIES.     815 

On  the  road,  at  a  distance  of  every  four  or  five  versts 
(three  or  four  English  miles),  we  found  a  military  post  of 
about  a  dozen  Cossacks,  keeping  themselves  and  their  horses 
under  gi'ound,  except  one  sentinel,  who  was  standing  upon 
a  scaffold  twelve  feet  high,  in  order  to  watch  any  inimical 
movements  of  the  Circassians,  to  repulse  their  attacks,  and, 
in  case  of  one,  to  give  notice  of  it  to  the  two  nearest  posts 
by  means  of  the  ancient  Persian  telegraph,  viz. :  by  igniting 
a  bundle  of  straw,  which  was  then  fastened  to  the  top  of  a 
high  pole  and  elevated.  At  midnight  our  misery  reached 
its  climax.  Though  covered  with  a  wide  cloak,  the  mos- 
quitoes entered  every  opening,  and  inflicted  upon  us  such 
painful  Avounds  that  our  faces  were  so  swollen  we  could 
scarcely  recognize  one  another.  To  our  joy  a  large  camp- 
fire  was  seen  at  some  distance,  which,  according  to  the 
driver's  assurance,  was  the  post-station,  where  fresh  horses 
could  be  had.  We  arrived  at  the  spot,  and  Avith  great  pre- 
cipitation left  the  carriage,  running  in  haste  to  the  fire,  near 
which  a  large  dog  was  howling  and  running  as  if  mad ;  the 
horses,  as  soon  as  they  were  unharnessed,  sprang  into  the 
fire  to  get  rid  of  the  mosquitoes,  and  only  with  difficulty 
could  they  be  removed  to  the  subterranean  stable,  where  the 
postmaster,  a  half-invalid  officer  of  the  army,  with  some 
men  and  a  number  of  imperial  horses,  resided.  The  officer 
immediately  ordered  fresh  horses  for  us,  and,  looking  fi-om 
under  a  very  heavy  covering  at  our  pitiful  condition,  told 
us  to  hurry  on,  and  by  daybreak  we  should  arrive  at  the 
next  station,  where  we  could  find  comfortable  houses  and 
be  relieved  from  the  attacks  of  mosquitoes.  In  less  than 
five  minutes  the  horses  were  harnessed,  and  the  Russian 
word  BosJioal,  "  Go  on,"  from  the  commander  to  the  new 
driver,  was  music  to  our  ears.  When  we  arrived  at  the 
next  station  we  stopped  at  the  first  house,  the  owner  of 
which  was  a  captain  of  the  Cossacks,  who  received  us  with 
the  usual  hospitality,  inborn  in  the  Russians  of  all  grades, 


316  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

and  entirely  unknown  in  any  part  of  Europe  or  America, 
Poland  and  Hungary  excepted.  The  captain  conducted  us 
into  a  well-furnished,  comfortable  room,  assisted  us  to  un- 
dress and  get  to  bed,  and  from  time  to  time  applied  wet 
cloths  to  our  swollen  face  and  body,  until  a  profound  sleep 
temporarily  relieved  our  excruciating  pains.  The  same 
care  was  taken  of  our  servant,  who,  in  the  madness  caused 
by  his  sufferings,  attempted  to  shoot  himself  that  he  might 
be  out  of  misery,  but  was  prevented  by  two  athletic  Cos- 
sacks, and  watched  and  nursed  until  he,  too,  was  relieved 
by  sleep.  It  was  not  until  after  a  week  of  suffering  that 
the  fever  and  inflammation  subsided  so  that  we  could  open 
our  eyes,  and  then,  with  many  hearty  thanks  to  our  hospi- 
table host.  Captain  Wasil  Iwanovich,  and  his  kind-hearted 
family,  and  with  the  deepest  gratitude,  we  continued  our 
travel  to  Mosdok,  from  which  town  we  went  with  a  cara- 
van, escorted  by  two  cannon,  two  hundred  infantry,  and 
sixty  Cossacks  on  horseback,  through  the  fertile  valleys  of 
romantic  Circassia,  with  her  castles  and  warlike  knights,  to 
the  Kussian  fortress  Wladicaucas ;  thence  we  ascended  the 
bank  of  the  furious  Terek,  through  the  Porta  Caucasica,  to 
the  height  of  nine  thousand  feet,  from  which  we  descended 
to  the  delicious  plains  of  Transcaucasia,  every  whei'C  enjoy- 
ing the  same  hospitable  reception. 

The  utmost  hospitality  is  found  among  all  the  Russians, 
and  one  can  not  visit  their  principal  cities  without  being 
thoroughly  convinced  of  it.  The  English  Captain  Coch- 
rane, known  by  his  pedestrian  travels  in  Russia,  started 
from  St.  Petersburg,  taking  with  him  only  five  francs,  and 
when  he  arrived  in  Moscow — a  distance  of  seven  hundred 
versts,  or  four  hundred  English  miles — his  five  francs  were 
still  in  his  pocket. 

As  the  Cossacks  of  the  Black  Sea  are  no  agriculturists, 
but  derive  their  subsistence  from  their  numerous  herds  of 
horses,  oxen,  sheep,  goats,  and  hogs,  they  suffer  immensely 


ORDER    VII. TWO-WINGED   INSECTS,  OR    FLIES.    317 

at  times  from  the  ravages  of  the  mosquitoes.  Although 
they  are  fortunately  not  seen  every  year,  these  blood-suckers 
may  be  considered  a  real  Egyptian  plague  among  the  herds 
of  these  Cossacks  ;  for  they  soon  transform  the  most  delight- 
ful plains  into  a  mournful,  solitaiy  desert,  killing  all  the 
beasts,  and  completely  stripping  the  fields  of  every  animated 
creature.  One  can  not  look  upon  the  spectacle  without 
pity  when  he  sees  the  poor  cattle  exhibiting  so  much  terror 
at  the  approach  of  these  innumerable  swarms  of  mosquitoes, 
whole  herds  hurrying  home  for  shelter,  running  as  if  mad, 
and  often,  in  their  fright,  plunging  into  the  river  and  being 
drowned.  Thousands  of  these  insatiate  tormentors  enter 
the  nostrils,  ears,  eyes,  and  mouth  of  the  cattle,  who  short- 
ly after  die  in  convulsions,  or  from  secondary  inflammation, 
or  from  absolute  suffocation.  In  the  small  town  of  Eliza- 
bethpol  alone,  during  the  month  of  June,  thirty  horses,  forty 
foals,  seventy  oxen,  ninety  calves,  a  hundred  and  fifty  hogs, 
and  four  hundred  sheep,  were  killed  by  these  flies. 

In  temperate  climates  this  kind  of  mosquito  is  only  ter- 
rific during  several  weeks  in  summer,  but  in  the  tropics,  al- 
though they  are  not  so  injurious,  they  are  very  troublesome 
throughout  the  year ;  and  in  our  excursions  in  the  Antilles 
of  America  we  could  never  enter  the  woods  without  having 
the  head,  face,  and  neck  covered  with  gauze,  and  the  hands 
with  leather  gloves,  for  every  leaf  of  every  plant  and  tree 
actually  swarmed  with  them. 

As  we  have  already  mentioned,  there  are  many  species 
of  the  mosquito  scattered  all  over  the  globe,  but  their  ex- 
ternal and  internal  condition  and  characteristics,  as  well  as 
their  habits  and  manner  of  living,  are  about  the  same. 
They  are  provided  with  a  long,  horny,  stiff,  and  perpendic- 
ular proboscis,  with  antenna3  consisting  of  fourteen  joints, 
feathered  on  the  males,  and  with  two  wings  covered  with 
small  scales.  Every  part  of  this  insect,  when  magnified, 
presents  not  only  a  beautiful  and  wonderful  appearance,  but 


318  NORTH    AMERICAN    INSECTS. 

can  not  fail  of  exciting  contemplations  of  the  most  serious 
kind.  Indeed,  one  has  no  idea  of  the  amazing  beauty  of 
these  diminutive  creatures  until  he  has  observed  them 
through  a  microscope. 

The  common  Mosquito  {Culex  pijiiens)  of  America,  as 
well  as  of  Europe,  is  gray,  and  has  immaculate  wings. 
7  The  females  are  the  principal  tormentors,  hovering  up  and 
down  in  large  swarms  near  the  water,  and  at  night  perse- 
cuting man  and  beast  with  their  stings,  as  well  as  their  in- 
tolerable music. 

Their  visible  proboscis  is  not  the  sting  itself,  but  only 
the  case  or  scabbard  which  incloses  the  instruments  for 
piercing  the  skin  and  sucking  our  blood.  These  instru- 
ments are  five  bristles,  which  may  be  seen  protruding  from 
the  scabbard,  or  proboscis,  if  you  take  hold  of  the  neck  of 
the  insect  and  squeeze  the  proboscis.  These  bristles,  cut  off 
and  placed  under  the  microscope,  appear  like  lancets  with  a 
hook  in  the  end,  which  remains  in  the  wound  made  by  it, 
if  the  insect  be  di-iven  away  suddenly  when  sucking,  and 
which  causes  greater  pain  and  inflammation  than  if  the  in- 
sect is  allowed  to  withdraw  it  when  he  has  ceased  sucking. 
After  the  hollow  sting  has  entered  the  flesh  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  line,  and  the  insect  has  filled  its  body  with 
human  blood,  the  wound  begins  to  itch  and  swell — not  on 
account  of  the  insignificant  puncture,  but  on  account  of 
the  venomous  saliva  which  entered  it,  for  the  purpose,  prob- 
ably, of  diluting  the  blood.  We  see  the  same  thing  when 
a  fly  drops  some  liquid  from  its  proboscis  upon  a  piece  of 
sugar,  in  order  to  dissolve  it  and  diminish  its  strength,  so 
that  it  can  suck  it  up.  The  saliva,  therefore,  performs  the 
same  ofiice  in  insects  that  it  does  in  mammals  when  mas- 
ticating their  food. 

Mosquitoes  deposit  their  eggs  in  stagnant  water,  and 
this  is  probably  the  reason  that  they  are  more  numerous  in 
wet  summers.     If  a  hogshead  or  barrel  of  water  be  placed 


^  ^-^^  c^V^^^t^ . 


ORDER    VII. TWO-WINGED  INSECTS,  OR   FLIES.      319 

in  the  garden  or  yard  during  the  summer,  it  will  in  a  few 
weeks  be  entirely  populated  with  the  larvae  of  mosquitoes ; 
for  each  female  deposits  about  three  hundred  eggs,  which, 
in  three  or  four  weeks  after,  are  metamorphosed  into  per- 
fect flies,  which  again  deposit  new  eggs,  and  so  on  until  six 
or  seven  generations  take  place  in  one  season.  Their  im- 
mense number  would  giva.us  much  trouble  in  every  section 
of  the  country  were  they  not  the  favorite  food  of  many 
birds,  particularly  of  the  swallows,  as  well  as  of  dragon- 
flies  and  other  insects,  who  diminish  their  number  and  help 
to  rid  us  of  their  troublesome  company. 

Their  eggs  are  of  an  oval  form,  and,  perpendicularly  glued 
together  in  masses,  swim  upon  the  water  like  rafts,  about 
three  lines  long.  They  are  at  first  white,  but  become  green 
after  a  few  hours,  and  afterward  gi'ay.  After  two  days  the 
larvfe  come  out,  and  swim  around  with  the  greatest  rapid- 
ity, very  often  coming  to  the  surface  of  the  water  to  breathe, 
their  respiratory  organ  being  situated  at  the  extremity  of 
the  hind  body.  In  two  weeks  they  change  into  a  pupa, 
which  still  remains  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
after  a  week  bursts  open,  and  the  perfect  mosquito  flies  out 
as  if  shot  from  underneath  the  water. 


THE    END. 


-V* "  >  \y    ;     /     /" 


^  ^ijM  ^>  /^     t: 


PROPERTY  OF 

Z.  p.  METCALF 


